Open innovation process to inbound knowledge : Collaboration with universities in four leading firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the organizational aspects of an open innovation approach by focusing on the relationship between universities and firms as a vehicle for acquiring technological knowledge. It discusses in detail the characteristics of firm organizational units that are devoted to managing relationships with universities and the processes that firms put in place to select research fields and partners. Design/methodology/approach – Considering the complex system of variables that characterize this phenomenon, an interview‐based case study method is adopted. In order to compare behaviors and organizational approaches, a retrospective, multiple case study method with theoretical replication was employed to focus on four companies that operate in three different industries: telecoms, construction, and aviation. The goal was to better explain the studied phenomenon. After the data‐gathering phase, the cases were compared by identifying similarities and differences in terms of four different drivers, the relevance of which were highlighted during the interviews. Findings – First, the sampled companies do acquire external knowledge from universities, but in doing so, they take into account the technology lifecycle (or s‐curve) and its associated phases. Second, in order to manage relationships with universities, companies make different decisions vis‐à‐vis four main organizational variables: the number of people involved in the organizational unit (OU) that is devoted to managing relationships with universities; the positioning of the OU within (or outside) the firm's boundaries; the degree of work specialization in the OU; and the degree of formalization of the process. Originality/value – This paper is one of the first attempts to operationalize the open innovation concept from an organizational perspective. Thus, it opens new possibilities for future organization‐focused studies on this topic.