Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.15813/kmr.2022.23.4.009

The Effects of Coupled Open Innovation of Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises on Firm Performance: Focusing on R&D and Non-R&D Innovation Cooperation Activities  

Ji-Hoon Park (Hanyang University)
Jungwoo Lee (STEPI)
Publication Information
Knowledge Management Research / v.23, no.4, 2022 , pp. 177-205 More about this Journal
Abstract
Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have strong incentives to engage in open innovation to enhance innovation efficiency and effectiveness due to their 'liability of smallness.' Previous research examined the performance effects of various open innovation practices, but whether coupled open innovation practices positively affect SMEs' firm performance is somewhat controversial. To resolve the issue, this study examined the effects of coupled open innovation activities on SMEs' firm performance using Heckman's two stage model to control endogeneity of the firms' self-selection bias in open innovation engagement. This study used the Korean Innovation Survey (KIS) 2020 collected by the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI), and tested the effects of SMEs' coupled open innovation activities, R&D and non-R&D cooperation, on their innovative and financial performance indicators. The results showed that SMEs' R&D cooperation positively affects the new-to-market (NTM) product innovation only. Moreover, SMEs' non-R&D cooperation has positive effects on the product innovation, business process innovation, new-to-the-market product innovation, and new-to-firm (NTF) product innovation. However, the results showed that both R&D and non-R&D innovation cooperation activities have no significant effects on SMEs' financial performance indicators. This study contributes to research on SMEs' open innovation and provides insights for SMEs' managers and policymakers.
Keywords
SMEs; Coupled open innovation; Innovative performance; Financial performance; R&D;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 4  (Citation Analysis)
연도 인용수 순위
1 OECD/Eurostat. (2018). Oslo manual 2018: Guidelines for collecting, reporting and using data on innovation (4th ed.). Paris/Eurostat, Luxembourg: OECD Publishing. 
2 Parida, V., Westerberg, M., & Frishammar, J. (2012). Inbound open innovation activities in high-tech SMEs: The impact on innovation performance. Journal of Small Business Management, 50(2), 283-309. 
3 Park, J. H. (2018). Open innovation of small and medium-sized enterprises and innovation efficiency. Asian Journal of Technology Innovation, 26(2), 115-145.    DOI
4 Park, J., Kim J., Woo, H., & Yang, J. S. (2022). Opposite effects of R&D cooperation on financial and technological performance in SMEs. Journal of Small Business Management, 60(4), 892-925.    DOI
5 Salter, A., Criscuolo, P., & Ter Wal, A. L. J. (2014). Coping with open innovation: Responding to the challenges of external engagement in R&D. California Management Review, 56(2), 77-94. 
6 Schumpeter, J. A. (1934). The theory of economic development. London: Oxford University Press. 
7 Shaver, J. M. (1998). Accounting for endogeneity when assessing strategy performance: Does entry mode choice affect FDI survival? Management Science, 44(4), 571-585.    DOI
8 Son, S. C., & Zo, H. (2021). Do R&D resources affect open innovation strategies in SMEs: The mediating effect of R&D openness on the relationship between R&D resources and firm performance in South Korea's innovation clusters. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537325.2021.2007237    DOI
9 Spithoven, A., Vanhaverbeke, W., & Roijakkers, N. (2013). Open innovation practices in SMEs and large enterprises. Small Business Economics, 41(3), 537-562.    DOI
10 Stinchcombe, A. (1965). Social structure and organizations. In J. G. March (Ed.), The handbook of organizations (pp. 142-193). Chicago: Rand McNally. 
11 Stuart, E. T., Hoang, H., & Hybels, R. C. (1999). Interorganizational endorsements and the performance of entrepreneurial ventures. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 315-349.    DOI
12 Teece, D. J. (1986). Profiting from technological innovation: Implications for integration, collaboration, licensing and public policy. Research Policy, 15(6), 285-305.    DOI
13 Thakur-Wernz, P., Bruyaka, O., & Contractor, F. (2020). Antecedents and relative performance of sourcing choices for new product development projects. Technovation, 90-91, 102097. 
14 Van de Vrande, V., De Jong, J. P. J., Vanhaverbeke, W., & De Rochemont, M. (2009). Open innovation in SMEs: Trends, motives and management challenges. Technovation, 29(6-7), 423-437.    DOI
15 Veugelers, R. (1998). Collaboration in R&D: An assessment of theoretical and empirical findings. De Economist, 146(3), 419-443.    DOI
16 Vossen, R. W. (1998). Relative strengths and weaknesses of small firms in innovation. International Small Business Journal, 16(3), 88-94. 
17 Woods, J., Galbraith, B., & Hewitt-Dundas, N. (2022). Network centrality and open Innovation: A social network analysis of an SME manufacturing cluster. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 69(2), 351-364.   DOI
18 박성진 (2018, 4월 11일). 중소기업 R&D 사업화율 47%...상용화로 제품혁신 힘써야. 연합뉴스. 
19 서리빈, 윤현덕 (2012). 개방형 혁신과 조직학습 특성이 벤처기업의 기술경쟁우위에 미치는 영향. 지식경영연구, 13(2), 73-93.    DOI
20 양지연, 노태우 (2015). 중소기업의 개방형 탐색 전략과 혁신활동. 지식경영연구, 16(4), 1-16.    DOI
21 이덕주 (2020, 10월 28일). 중소기업, 전체 기업의 99.9%. 매일경제. 
22 이정우, 강희종, 손수아, 서현정, 조가원, 김민재, 김선영 (2020). 2020년 한국기업혁신조사: 제조업 부문. 과학기술정책연구원. 
23 이종선, 박지훈, 배종태 (2016). 기업의 개방형 혁신이 혁신 생산성에 미치는 영향: 외부 지식 탐색활동을 중심으로. 지식경영연구, 17(1), 49-72.    DOI
24 주시형 (2020). 외부지식 탐색 전략이 기업의 상품혁신에 미치는 영향. 한국혁신학회지, 15(1), 273-300. 
25 한상연 (2020). 기업 기술혁신전략 활동이 혁신 및 재무성과와 고용에 미치는 영향. 산업경제연구, 33(5), 1449-1475. 
26 Ahuja, G. (2000). The duality of collaboration: Inducements and opportunities in the formation of interfirm linkages. Strategic Management Journal, 21(3), 317-343.    DOI
27 Aldrich, H., & Auster, E. R. (1986). Even dwarfs started small: Liabilities of age and size and their strategic implications. Research in Organizational Behavior, 8, 165-198. 
28 Alexy, O., Criscuolo, P., & Salter, A. (2009). Does IP strategy have to cripple open innovation? MIT Sloan Management Review, 51, 71-77. 
29 Almeida, F. (2021). Open-innovation practices: Diversity in Portuguese SMEs. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 7(3), 169. 
30 Barringer, B. R., & Ireland, R. D. (2018). Entrepreneurship: Successfully launching new ventures (6th ed.). New York: Pearson. 
31 Bigliardi, B., Ferraro, G., Filippelli, S., & Galati, F. (2021). The past, present and future of open innovation. European Journal of Innovation Management, 24(4), 1130-1161.    DOI
32 Chesbrough, H. (2011). Open services innovation: Rethinking your business to grow and compete in a new era. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 
33 Bogers, M. (2011). The open innovation paradox: Knowledge sharing and protection in R&D collaborations. European Journal of Innovation Management, 14(1), 93-117.    DOI
34 Cassiman, B., & Valentini, G. (2016). Open innovation: Are inbound and outbound knowledge flows really complementary? Strategic Management Journal, 37(6), 1034-1046.    DOI
35 Chesbrough, H. (2003). Open innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. 
36 Bougrain, F., & Haudeville, B. (2002). Innovation, collaboration and SMEs internal research capacities. Research Policy, 31(5), 735-747.    DOI
37 Carrasco-Carvajal, O., Castillo-Vergara, M., & GarciaPerez-de-Lema, D. (2022). Measuring open innovation in SMEs: An overview of current research. Review of Managerial Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-022-00533-9    DOI
38 Chesbrough, H., & Schwartz, K. (2007). Innovating business models with co-development partnerships. Research Technology Management, 50(1), 55-59.    DOI
39 Chesbrough, H., Vanhaverbeke, W., & West J. (2006). Open innovation: Researching a new paradigm. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 
40 Christoffersen, J., Plenborg, T., & Robson, M. J. (2014). Measures of strategic alliance performance, classified and assessed. International Business Review, 23(3), 479-489.    DOI
41 Clougherty, J. A., Duso, T., & Muck, J. (2016). Correcting for self-selection based endogeneity in management research: Review, recommendations and simulations. Organizational Research Methods, 19(2), 286-347.    DOI
42 Eisenhardt, K. M., & Schoonhoven, C. B. (1996). Resource-based view of strategic alliance formation: Strategic and social effects in entrepreneurial firms. Organization Science, 7(2), 136-150.    DOI
43 D'Angelo, A., & Baroncelli, A. (2020). An investigation over inbound open innovation in SMEs: Insights from an Italian manufacturing sample. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 32(5), 542-560.    DOI
44 De Marco, C. E., Martelli, I., & Di Minin, A. (2020). European SMEs' engagement in open innovation When the important thing is to win and not just to participate, what should innovation policy do? Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 152, 119843. 
45 Ebersberger, B., Galia, F., Laursen, K., & Salter, A. (2021). Inbound open innovation and innovation performance: A robustness study. Research Policy, 50(7), 104271. 
46 Enkel, E., Gassmann, O., & Chesbrough, H. (2009). Open R&D and open innovation: Exploring the phenomenon. R&D Management, 39(4), 311-316.    DOI
47 Freel, M. S. (2005). Patterns of innovation and skills in small firms. Technovation, 25(2), 123-134.    DOI
48 Hagedoorn, J. (2002). Inter-firm R&D partnerships: An overview of major trends and patterns since 1960. Research Policy, 31(4), 477-492.    DOI
49 Hamel, G. (1991). Competition for competence and inter-partner learning within international strategic alliances. Strategic Management Journal, 12, 83-103.    DOI
50 Hashi, I., & Stojcic, N. (2013). The impact of innovation activities on firm performance using a multi-stage model: Evidence from the Community Innovation Survey 4. Research Policy, 42(2), 353-366.    DOI
51 Heckman, J. (1979). Sample selection bias as a specification error. Econometrica, 47(1), 153-161.    DOI
52 Hottenrott, H., & Lopes-Bento, C. (2016). R&D partnerships and innovation performance: Can there be too much of a good thing? Journal of Product Innovation Management, 33(6), 773-794.    DOI
53 Heckman, J. (1990). Varieties of selection bias. American Economic Review, 80(2), 313-318. 
54 Henttonen, K., & Lehtimaki, H. (2017). Open innovation in SMEs: Collaboration modes and strategies for commercialization in technology-intensitve companies in forestry industry. European Journal of Innovation Management, 20(2), 329-347. 
55 Hochleitner, F. P., Arbussa, A., & Coenders, G. (2017). Inbound open innovation in SMEs: indicators, non-financial outcomes and entry-timing. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 29(2), 204-218.    DOI
56 Kitchell, S. (1997). CEO characteristics and technological innovativeness: A Canadian perspective. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 14(2), 111-121.    DOI
57 Larson, A. (1992). Network dyads in entrepreneurial settings: A study of the governance of exchange relationships. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37(1), 76-104.    DOI
58 Larsson, R., Bengtsson, L., & Henriksson, K., & Sparks, J. (1998). The interorganizational learning dilemma: Collective knowledge development in strategic alliances. Organization Science, 9(3), 285-305.    DOI
59 Laursen, K., & Salter, A. (2006). Open for innovation: The role of openness in explaining innovation performance among UK manufacturing firms. Strategic Management Journal, 27(2), 131-150. 
60 Laursen, K., & Salter, A. J. (2014). The paradox of openness: Appropriability, external search and collaboration. Research Policy, 43(5), 867-878.    DOI
61 Lee, J. S., Park, J. H., & Bae, Z. T. (2017). The effects of licensing-in on innovative performance in different technological regimes. Research Policy, 46(2), 485-496.    DOI
62 Narula, R. (2004). R&D collaboration by SMEs: New opportunities and limitations in the face of globalisation. Technovation, 24(2), 153-161.    DOI
63 Leiblein, M. J., Reuer, J. J., & Dalsace, F. (2002). Do make or buy decisions matter? The influence of organizational governance on technological performance. Strategic Management Journal, 23(9), 817-833.    DOI
64 Long, C. (2002). Patent signals. University of Chicago Law Review, 69(2), 625-679.    DOI
65 Mei, L., Zhang, T., & Chen, J. (2019). Exploring the effects of inter-firm linkages on SMEs' open innovation from an ecosystem perspective: An empirical study of Chinese manufacturing SMEs. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 144, 118-128.    DOI
66 Nieto, M. J., & Santamaria, L. (2010). Technological collaboration: Bridging the innovation gap between small and large firms. Journal of Small Business Management, 48(1), 44-69.    DOI
67 Obradovic, T., Vlacic, B., & Dabic, M. (2021). Open innovation in the manufacturing industry: A review and research agenda. Technovation, 102, 102221.