Leveraging on projects to strategically organize open innovation

The chapter proposes a project-based view on open innovation in contexts where knowledge is dispersed and the locus of innovation does not reside inside a single organization. After a review of studies on the organization of innovative labour and the role of new product development projects, the chapter shows that a main gap in this literature is the underestimation of the project-level of analysis. The chapter discusses how innovative projects could be conceived as a strategic site where the organization of the external network of knowledge sources takes place. It analyzes the main factors explaining firms’ propensity to design open innovation project-by-project. Adopting a contingency approach, it reviews recent research on the project features affecting inbound choices in innovative organization and on the relation between project choices and the knowledge-base of the firm. Finally, the chapter provides an overview of the chapters of the book and how they address some key theoretical and empirical open issues.This chapter proposes a project-based view of open innovation in contexts where knowledge is dispersed and the locus of innovation does not reside inside a single organization. After a review of studies on the organization of innovative labor and the role of new product development projects, the chapter discusses how innovative projects could be conceived as a strategic site where the organization of the external network of knowledge sources takes place. It analyzes the main factors explaining firms' propensity to design open innovation project-by-project. Adopting a contingency approach, it reviews recent research on the project features affecting inbound choices in innovative organizations and on the relation between project choices and the knowledge base of the firm. Finally, the chapter provides an overview of the chapters of the book and how they address some key theoretical and empirical open issues