Improving The Effectiveness Of Open Innovation: A Configurational Approach

In this research, we propose that biotech firms use Open Innovation (OI) configurations by combining three openness practices (number of alliances, breadth and external R&D) and five complementary organizational assets for openness (internal R&D, human capital, alliances coordination and interorganizational learning capabilities, and patenting) and that such configurations have influence on firm performance. From our empirical study on a sample of Spanish biotech firms, three predominant configurations are identified, which are located at different points in the openness continuum, and encompass different combinations of openness practices and organizational complementary assets. The most open configuration presents a significant superior performance while the least open is associated with the lowest performance.