2019 Volume 70 Issue 3 Pages 137-146
More companies focus on open innovation (OI) practices that enable them to acquire external resources by collaborating with external parties (e.g., companies in different industries and universities). Even though OI has received much attention in recent years, several companies are struggling to coordinate with external parties or select them. The purpose of this study is to clarify what kinds of opportunities contribute to accumulating know-how to acquire external resources through more effective OI. To achieve this, this study mainly focuses on the collaboration with suppliers that may enable such opportunities. Although this type of collaboration is a long-term relationship for companies, through this relationship, organizations can build an adequate system for coordinating with or assessing external parties. As a result, organizations having experienced collaboration with suppliers can utilize their know-how to acquire external resources. Based on this discussion, a theoretical framework is constructed and the framework is analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). In the analytical process, this study utilized questionnaire data obtained from Japanese manufacturing companies. As a consequence of the SEM analysis, the relationship between the degree how companies collaborate with suppliers and the degree of OI practices is evaluated.
