Organizing Open Innovation in Networks : the role of boundary relations
Résumé
This paper investigates the organizational determinants favoring Open Innovation (OI) processes. Three organizational determinants derived from the Innovation Network and the Communities of Practice theories, are analyzed: network configuration, actors’ position in the network and resource interfaces. A case study highlights that OI performance is favored by the preexistence of Communities of Practice in partner firms as well as collective brokering relations (boundary objects, brokers). The paper distinguishes two types of brokers: knowledge brokers and qualification brokers whose role is conditioned by their network legitimacy.