Promoting the Penguin? Permeable Firm Boundaries and their Intraorganizational Implications

In this paper, we open up the black box that has been the introduction of open practices into firms’ commercial R&D strategies. Most of the existing research on the phenomenon of open innovation focuses on its interorganizational aspects. In contrast, the effect that the opening of boundaries has within the organization itself, in particular how it affects existing roles and routines, have been largely ignored. Using the example of the commercial use and development of open source software, we look at how this particular practice, and different types of it, affect existing tasks and responsibilities of individuals engaged in the R&D process....