Exploring the Impact of Open Innovation on National Systems of Innovation – A Theoretical Analysis

This paper investigates the impact of open innovation on national systems of innovation. The open innovation concept has become widely established among scholars and practitioners following publication of the seminal work by Chesbrough (2003). However, an overview of its impact on national innovation systems is still lacking. Given that the innovating firm is at the core of national innovation systems, a better understanding of shifting innovation strategies at the firm level is of fundamental importance to the actions of policy-makers within the national innovation systems framework. Based on the main analytical approaches of national innovation systems and the current state of open innovation research, we argue that open innovation practices have at least three critical effects on national systems of innovation: (a) they reinforce its importance; (b) they improve its effectiveness; and (c) they diversify its networks