The role of open innovation in strengthening corporate responsibility

Meanwhile within a multiplicity of companies corporate responsibility (CR) can be identified. However, there is a gap between wording and acting responsibly. Nowadays, stakeholder integration is a main trend for companies to be or act responsibly. It can also be stated that open innovation methods (OIMs) can enable companies to find new and responsible or sustainable solutions and activities. Moreover, they help to act responsibly due to the enlarging of the knowledge base and opening perspectives in ad hoc or continuous communication with consumers and stakeholders. Yet, the question arises: Does open innovation really lead to or strengthen CR? OIMs have diverse options to support CR. This study emphasises the strengths and weaknesses of selected OIMs to strengthen CR. Research is based on an empirical analysis of 16 German-based companies and 3 networks using stakeholder dialogues, innovation workshops, ideas competition, web-communities or toolkits.