Special issue on Collaborative Innovation

The idea for this special issue on Collaborative Innovation originated during the annual Advances in Production Management Systems (APMS) conference held at Lake Como, Italy, in October 2010. The aim of the special issue is to contribute to the debate on collaborative innovation. To achieve this, we have selected nine papers that look into particular issues that will enable further development of knowledge in this area. The criteria we set for this special issue was to look for papers that clearly focus on the needs of industry and provide robust theoretical foundations integrated with empirical studies. We believe that the articles included in this issue reflect these criteria well.

It is widely agreed that collaboration between firms can be an important source of innovation, sustainability and competitive advantage. However, collaborative innovation is not a recipe for success in itself. In their recent publication, 5 Myths of Innovation, Birkinshaw et al. (2011) state that ‘open innovation is not the future, but it is certainly part of the future’ adding that companies should not underestimate the time and effort involved in building external innovation networks. It is commonly said that innovation is 5% inspiration and 95% perspiration. This is even more relevant when it comes to innovating through collaboration because firms often need to deal with the added challenges of finding the required strategic, operational, commercial and cultural synergies (Bititci et al. 2004). The articles in this special issue move us a step closer to a better understanding of the nature of these challenges and potential ways to overcome them.

The first four articles study the concept of innovation through collaboration with suppliers. This particular issue is explored in three different contexts including new product development, new service development and first tier supply networks. Using a qualitative case study approach, Bunduchi explores the role that trust plays during the selection of suppliers in new product development and the outcome that reliance on trust has on the innovation outcome. In their paper, Garengo and Panizzolo study the enablers to achieve high internal and external integration in product development. They use a multiple case study approach in order to empirically explore external integration in product development with suppliers in 22 SMEs from the machine tool sector. Based on empirical evidence from four dominant Taiwanese convenience stores, Hsieh's article focuses on the connection between inter-firm relationships (i.e. interdependence and trust) and development outcome (i.e. development speed) in the new service development process. Shaw and Burgess study the innovation activity within a utility company and its supply network. The concept of ‘knowledge stickiness’ is explored in relation to impediments for innovation sharing among the collaborative supply network.

The next two papers focus on innovation in the context of university-industry collaboration. Dooley, Kirk and Philpott study a collaboration initiative in life science research to identify the specific capabilities of a particular group of individuals that can lead and manage the initiation, strategic design, operational direction, communications, control and legitimacy of such collaborations. Alexander and Childe review the role that tacit knowledge can play at providing innovation capability and study the transfer of this knowledge using rich media channels. They argue that the selection of the appropriate channels can improve the innovation through the transfer of knowledge between organisations and present a model for successful application.

The subject of web-based technologies supporting collaborative innovation is explored in the next two papers. Battistella and Nonino use a mixed methodology to investigate the relationship between specific motivations and specific innovation roles. Their study identifies the motivations that attract and stimulate participation and contribution of users for a specific innovation role. Michaelides, Morton and Liu analyse innovation network constructs and their relationship with user engagement before proposing a theoretical evaluation framework to ascertain the effects of collaborative tools on user engagement in online innovation networks.

The final paper of this special issue, a practice-based case study, takes us to Stavanger, the ‘Oil Capital’ of Norway and the place where the 2011 APMS conference was held. Due to the presence of many of the global firms in the oil and gas sector Stavanger exemplifies several of the challenges and opportunities that emerge from collaborative innovation. The paper by Kalsaas sheds light on the key factors associated with innovation initiatives in a company operating in this sector and explores the complexities involved in the implementation of major practice-based innovations.

The above articles demonstrate that collaborative innovation, both as a subject area and a practical problem, is highly complex and dependant on many different variables. We believe that to advance the knowledge in collaborative innovation and generate relevant findings for industry, it is necessary to take a systems view approach that will enable better understanding of the relationship between these variables.

The Guest Editors thank all the authors and referees for their contributions. We would also like to thank the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the National Science Foundation of China for funding the research project that led to the preparation of this special issue. We hope that you enjoy reading this special issue.