Bridging university-firm and open innovation literature : a critical synthesis

Open Innovation (01) is a 'hot' topic in the field of innovation. Based on a bibliometric analysis, we found that most of the existing studies on 01 are conceptual in nature. In the few empirical studies available, the issue of University-Enterprise relations - one of the components of the open innovation model is analyzed in a relatively superficial manner that neglects the mechanisms by which companies could obtain competitive advantage by following a more open model of innovation based on relationships with universities. Moreover, the existing studies on U-E relations do not highlight, at least explicitly, the question of the open innovation model. Such studies are still highly focused on a unidirectional profit perspective, and are excessively centered on the advantages enterprises are able to obtain from relations with universities, failing to take into account the value that potentially goes to universities from such links