Open innovation in SMEs: Trends, motives and management challenges

As with other fashionable concepts open innovation (OI) requires extensive empirical investigation, testing and development. Evidence for OI practices has been provided by case research about large, diversified firms but OI practices in SMEs have not been analyzed systematically. This paper represents the results of a survey among 605 Dutch innovating SMEs. The results show that SMEs are increasingly adapting OI practices and larger SMEs are adapting more quickly than smaller ones. SMEs pursue an OI strategy to realize market-related objectives such as meeting customer demands, or keeping up with competitors. In addition, the results show that the most important barriers respondents face are related to the organizational and cultural differ- ences when cooperating with other partners. Other serious barriers are administrative burdens, financing issues and knowledge transfer problems.