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How Do Individuals Engage in Open Innovation? Unveiling the Microfoundations of Relational Capabilities

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Exploring Digital Resilience (ItAIS 2021)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Information Systems and Organisation ((LNISO,volume 57))

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Abstract

Disruption in our society demands collective rather than isolated efforts. In order to address societal challenges, organizations are increasingly called to innovate across organizational boundaries. Literature on open innovation, however, has mainly focused on the organizational-level, neglecting the individual-level, or what has recently called ‘the human side’ of open innovation. This study sheds light on the microfoundations of open innovation by unveiling the micro-level foundations of relational capabilities from the analysis of a multiple embedded case study on five SMEs operating in Northern Italy. Results suggest perspective taking, balancing skills, and negotiation skills as individual-level features that aggregate at a higher level through a dynamic process. By doing so, this study contributes to the discourse on microfoundations of organizational capabilities for open innovation.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, University of Turin, 10134, Turin, Italy

    Alberto Bertello, Paola De Bernardi, Canio Forliano & Francesca Ricciardi

  2. Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Palermo, 90134, Palermo, Italy

    Canio Forliano

Authors
  1. Alberto Bertello
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  2. Paola De Bernardi
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  3. Canio Forliano
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  4. Francesca Ricciardi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alberto Bertello .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics and Management, University of Trento, Trento, Italy

    Roberta Cuel

  2. Department of Economics and Management, University of Trento, Trento, Italy

    Diego Ponte

  3. Department of Economics and Social Sciences - Faculty of Economics and Law, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Piacenza, Italy

    Francesco Virili

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Bertello, A., De Bernardi, P., Forliano, C., Ricciardi, F. (2022). How Do Individuals Engage in Open Innovation? Unveiling the Microfoundations of Relational Capabilities. In: Cuel, R., Ponte, D., Virili, F. (eds) Exploring Digital Resilience. ItAIS 2021. Lecture Notes in Information Systems and Organisation, vol 57. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10902-7_2

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