Open innovation as a driver for new organisations: a qualitative analysis of green-tech start-ups

Abstract

Start-ups, to which two-thirds of radical sustainable innovations are credited, have been identified as the driving force of the green-tech industry. Linking green-tech start-ups with open innovation, this study used semi-structured expert interviews to identify key partners for open innovation, providing insights into core opportunities and risks emerging in the innovation process. The results showed that green-tech start-ups rely on both inbound and outbound innovation. The study identified key open innovation network partners, namely academic institutes, support platforms/other start-ups, incumbent firms, and customers. Although opportunities and risks appear to be partner-specific, they can be related to three distinct levels of impact: firm development, technology development, and technology commercialisation. Synergetic partnerships, such as R&D collaborations with universities and incumbent firms, create opportunities at all three levels. Risks affect particularly the level of technology and of firm development. This paper contributes to the literature through key findings addressing five propositions.

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