Open service innovation and the firm's search for external knowledge

The concept of open innovation captures the increasing propensity of firms to work across their traditional boundaries of operation. This phenomenon has largely been studied from the viewpoint of manufacturing businesses while services have received much less attention despite the predominant role they play in advanced economies. This paper focuses on open innovation in services, both as a subsector of the economy and as a component of the activities of manufacturing firms. We study the open innovation practices of business services firms and then consider the implications for open innovation of the adoption of a service inclusive business model by manufacturing firms. Our analyses are based on a unique dataset with information on open innovation activities amongst UK firms. Overall, engagement in open innovation increases with firm size and R&D expenditure. Business services are more active open innovators than manufacturers; they are more engaged in informal relative to formal open innovation practices than manufacturers; and they attach more importance to scientific and technical knowledge than to market knowledge compared to manufacturing firms. Open innovation practices are also associated with the adoption of a service inclusive business model in manufacturing firms and service-integrated manufacturers engage in more informal knowledge-exchange activities. The paper contributes towards a reconceptualisation of open innovation in service businesses and a deeper evidence-based understanding of the service economy

Exploiting knowledge flows: Openness and the innovative performance of business services:Academy of Management 2013 Annual Meeting, AOM 2013

Innovation requires a capacity to seek, absorb and utilize external knowledge, and an ability to develop, leverage or exchange internally-generated knowledge. Internally, it requires the structuring of information channels within and across hierarchical or divisional levels. Externally, it implies choices and costs in selecting and managing interactions and collaborations. Based on an original survey of open innovation practices amongst UK firms, this paper addresses this gap by exploring the impact of external and internal openness, the role of formal vs. informal knowledge sourcing practices (and their interaction), on the innovative performance of business services. Not only external but also internal openness positively affect the innovative performance of firm. Among different types of knowledge exchange mechanisms, informal practices are especially effective. On the contrary, joint engagement in formal and informal practices appears to decrease the firm’s share of innovative sales, a possible indication of diseconomies of scale or managerial attention constraints. In-depth analyses of different groups of firms generate further insights into how the benefits of openness vary with firm size

A dynamic curation method for manufacturing-related knowledge

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Production Research on 18 Aug 2016, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2016.1222089A method for the dynamic curation of manufacturing-related knowledge is proposed, based on the impact of successive paradigm introduction on the network structure within manufacturing companies. This draws together manufacturing system structure in terms of interacting component network types, the nature and consequences of knowledge silos and the underpinning dichotomous influence of language. The need and opportunities for an objective- rather than subjective paradigm-based view of manufacturing are identified, leading to a curation process in which paradigms and other knowledge specialisms are different viewpoints based on particular models of manufacturing processes and resources. The consequences of this are explored in terms of knowledge silo reduction, improved communication within component social- and information networks, increased operational resilience and better informed decision-making for future business