Petra A. Nylund

Open innovation and intellectual property rights: How do SMEs benefit from patents, industrial designs, trademarks and copyrights?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between open innovation and the use of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The authors consider patents, industrial designs (i.e. design patents in the USA), trademarks, and copyrights. Design/methodology/approach The relationships between open innovation, IPRs, and profitability are tested with random-effects panel regressions on data from the Spanish Community Innovation Survey for 2,873 firms spanning the years 2008-2013. Findings A key result is that SMEs do not benefit from open innovation or from patenting in the same way as larger firms. Furthermore, the results show that SMEs profit in different ways from IPR, depending on their size and the corresponding IPR. Research limitations/implications The different impact of IPRs on the efficiency of open innovation in firms of varying sizes highlights the importance of further investigation into IP strategies and into open innovation in SMEs. Practical implications Industrial designs are currently the most efficient IPR for SMEs to protect their intellectual property in open innovation collaborations. Depending on the company size, the use of different IPRs is recommended. Moreover, firms should seek to increase the efficiency of open innovation and the use of IPRs. Social implications The high impact of SMEs on employment highlights the importance of fomenting efficient innovation processes in such firms. Originality/value This paper opens the black box of IPR in relation to open innovation in SMEs, and draws distinctive conclusions with regards to patents, industrial designs, trademarks, and copyrights.

Social media: open innovation in SMEs finds new support

Purpose The exchange of knowledge in social networks is fundamental to innovation. Open, interactive, innovation requires collaboration through social networks. This social networking is increasingly carried out across the Internet through social media applications. The purpose of this study is to explore the use of social media in open innovation, and explain how this practice is carried out in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). With less resources than large firms, SMEs both have a greater need for open innovation and a less resources to invest in the process. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors study the case of open innovation in start-up Aurea Productiva and induce a framework for open innovation in SMEs powered by social media. Findings The authors explore how the main advantages of the Web 2.0 translate into opportunities, challenges and strategies for open innovation that can be directly applied by managers. Research limitations/implications The authors contribute to research on open innovation by social media and to research on the innovation process of SMEs. Future quantitative research could confirm and extend the authors’ findings. Practical implications Companies that want to fully exploit the benefits of social media can create a strategy that emphasizes coevolution of innovation and resources, sharing their vision and objectives and providing a framework for innovation. Originality/value The authors introduce an original analysis of opportunities, challenges and strategies for open innovation in SMEs.

PlanetFactory: Competing Under Rapid Technological Change

This teaching case considers the situation of a small Catalan company without the support of a local cluster, which is competing in a dynamic global industry characterized by rapid technological change. The company faces the challenge of creating and commercializing a breakthrough innovation for digital education, with educational content for teachers and easy-to-use authoring tools for modifying this content. The case analysis includes an internal and external analysis of the company and the industry, and introduces concepts associated to rapidly changing markets such as lead-user innovation, first-mover advantage, and transient advantage. The case is therefore adequate for courses on technology management, innovation, competitive strategy, or marketing management.

Determinants of high-growth firms during the financial crisis: evidence from Catalonia

This study profiles and provides an economic and financial analysis of high-growth Catalan firms during the period 2008-2013, identified from an objective search using the SABI database. The firms experienced a minimum 10% increase in sales between the years 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, a 5% minimum ROA in 2013, and a 2% minimum ROE in 2013. The aim of this study is to profile the Catalan firms with the strongest growth and determine their financial and economic health during the period 2008-2013, identifying sectors and regions which experienced the most growth. The methodology consists of an economic and financial analysis of the short-term balance sheet (with emphasis on liquid assets directly related to the cash flow statement), of the long-term balance sheet, of profit or loss of changes in equity, and collections and payments, in order to reach results and conclusions which enable these firms to position themselves at an economic and financial level, and identify future challenges in order to maintain their competitiveness.

The Effectiveness Of Open Innovation: Do Size And Performance Of Open Innovation Groups Matter?

Innovation is accelerated by heterogeneous knowledge, which is obtained in open innovation. We investigate whether there are limits to the beneficial degree of openness. Conceiving innovator group size as a trade-off between knowledge heterogeneity and coordination costs for innovating groups, we theorise about the impact of group size on innovative performance. We hypothesise that openness and internationalisation positively moderate this relationship, but that the positive effects are limited by the trade-off between knowledge heterogeneity and coordination costs. Through an empirical investigation using a large set of international patent data, we find support for our conceptual development and are able to conclude how many individuals those groups contain that generate the most innovative performance. Groups of three inventors have the most positive impact, and groups of two to eight inventors also generate positive effects. Science-based industries however allow for bigger groups than other industries, and supplier-dominated industries have smaller beneficial group sizes.