The dynamics of multi-layered openness in innovation systems: The role of distributed knowledge and intellectual property

Paper in proceeding, 2012

Open innovation has become an increasingly recognized potential source of innovativeness and competitive advantage. Various perspectives on innovation openness co-exist and a complete comprehension of the underlying mechanisms and dimensions is still lacking. This paper therefore aims at developing a conceptual framework that helps to describe innovation openness. Based on literature and an empirical case of four generations of mobile communication systems we develop a framework consisting of three main dimensions, namely resource distribution, technology governance, and technology accessibility. The case further illustrates the multi-layered and dynamic nature of innovation openness. As such, any notion of a stable optimum and one-dimensional view on innovation openness is overly simplistic and likely to mislead managerial and policy decisions.