Toward an Aspiration-Level Theory of Open Innovation

Abstract

Although open innovation has become increasingly established in the management literature, comprehensive theoretical explanations of what drives firms to be open are sparse. By taking the perspective of the behavioural theory of the firm, we conceive of open innovation as a form of non-local search. We argue that firms are prone to use open innovation when substantially under- or over performing their aspirations. We further enquire how this relationship is moderated by firm-specific assets crucial to innovative activity: human capital, R&D investment, and patenting activity. Operationalizing open innovation as a set of practices, we employ a representative survey of UK firms to test our hypotheses. We find strong evidence of moderation, allowing us both to present explanations for the drivers of search through open innovation as well as contribute to the behavioural theory of the firm itself.

Biography

Oliver Alexy is an Associate Professor of Strategic Entrepreneurship at the TUM School of Management (Munich, Germany). His research focuses on the contribution of organization design and capabilities toward the strategic renewal of established companies and the establishment and growth of start-ups. His work is represented by publications in the leading journals such as Academy of Management Review, Journal of Management Studies and California Management Review.