Relationships among Open Innovation Processes, Entrepreneurial Orientation, and Organizational Performance of SMEs: The Moderating Role of Technological Turbulence

Open innovation processes have become important mechanisms that are integrated into organization's innovation strategies to improve performance among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) under dynamic technological settings. This study explored the relationships among open innovation processes (outside-in, inside-out, and coupled), entrepreneurial orientation (EO), and organizational performances (innovation and financial) of SMEs and analyzed the moderating role of technological turbulence on these relationships. Drawing on the technology-based view, we proposed a conceptual framework that depicts how SMEs' EO facilitates open innovation processes, which consequently affect performance. The empirical results from a sample of 161 Taiwan-based SMEs reveal that EO serves as a precursor for open innovation processes, and practicing specific open innovation processes improve specific performance outcomes. Outside-in process is positively related to both performance outcomes. Inside-out process is linked to financial performance, and the coupled process is linked to innovation performance. Under high degree of technological turbulence, the positive relationship between EO to outside-in and inside-out processes and the relationship between outside-in process to both innovation and financial performance are strengthened. However, high technological turbulence does not facilitate the relationship between EO to the coupled process or the coupled process to both performance outcomes.