GAMES OF INNOVATION: THE ROLES OF NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS

Games of innovation involve four types of organisational players: firms, governments, universities, and nonprofit organisations. Of the four, nonprofit organisations are the least well understood. To capture the contributions of all types of organisational players, I adopt the perspective of a focal firm and consider the roles that other organisations play with respect to its ability to innovate. I introduce the roles of institutional enabler and institutional balancer, in which another organisation increases or decreases, respectively, the focal firm's ability to innovate by shaping the networks and markets in which it participates. I then develop propositions regarding the importance of the institutional enabler and balancer roles, and the roles of nonprofit organisations, in games of innovation.