Enhancing success with open innovation: an investigation of connective capabilities and network characteristics

The aim of this study was to investigate factors that led to increased success with open innovation. In particular, we explored two firm capabilities - relational proclivity and proactive market orientation - as connective capabilities that improved open innovation performance. Important to these capabilities and open innovation, is the environment that firms operate within, thus we considered network centrality and network density as moderators to the capabilities and open innovation link. Using a sample of 199 technology firms, we found that these connective capabilities improved open innovation performance and the moderation due to network characteristics was complex and could lead to improved performance. Relational proclivity did enhance the degree to which firms followed open innovation and that the greater the firm's proactive market orientation, the greater the level of open innovation. Further, firms with a proactive market orientation and low network density outperformed those with proactive market orientation and high network density.