VOIS - Area 1 - Module 7

  1. MODULE TITLE

Module 7: Building your Open Innovation ecosystem
  1. AUTHORS

Evangelia Chatzikonstantinou, Panagiotis Kallianis, Stylianos Portokalidis, Maria Symeonidou
  1. SHORT DESCRIPTION

Open Innovation Ecosystem

Managing to build an Open Innovation ecosystem, is certainly an important opportunity for SMEs in the agri-food sector to extend their value as businesses. The Open Innovation strategy will help them on this process via many ways. Following this strategy means that it will assist in developing IT skills and improving the digitalization of a business by using the opportunities given from Open Data and Big Data.

Apart from that, the most important aspect to be prioritized is Networking Development. Through networking, one can extend their collaborations, exchange innovative ideas with other SMEs and co-operate with public actors, such as chambers, municipalities, universities etc. Furthermore, Open Innovation strategy will assist in selecting the appropriate partners for entering wider markets and being more competitive, by doing strategic choices for every issue and by taking advantage of every opportunity given.
  1. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

    Upon completing this module, you should be able to:

  • organize an Open Innovation strategy and incorporate it in their business
  • evaluate the importance of Big Data and Open Data in Open Innovation
  • develop effective collaborations and build networks
  • apply the Open Innovation strategy when searching for and selecting appropriate partners for entering wider markets while being more competitive
  1. Training Content
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Recognition of information and co-innovation as sources for building OI ecosystem

In today’s market, Open Innovation is an extremely prominent strategy because it can foster the creation of value for agri-food businesses. Knowledge is the most significant resource, and it often constitutes a firm’s competitive advantage[1]. In other words, through new knowledge, a business can develop its production methods and as a result the quality of its products. The outcome will be to become more competitive in its field of entrepreneurship. Nowadays, technology is changing every day, therefore it is important for a firm to exchange knowledge and technology with other successful businesses.

In agri-food businesses, management skills are important for Open Innovation: the capability to absorb information from external knowledge is fundamental in the agri-food sector because it may counterbalance for lower internal research capabilities. To be more specific, absorptive capacity is the ability to recognize the value of new information. Organizations that search more widely and deeply will have higher levels of innovative performance. Absorptive capacity of external knowledge can positively affect innovative performance.[2] This means, that new information given from various successful businesses could be appreciated and used in another business.

Nowadays, most of the knowledge is shared via the internet, therefore these businesses should be able to increase their capability to analyze information and to increase digitalization in their work and procedures.[3]

Source: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/lightbulb-artificial-intelligence-5442769/

For these reasons, utilizing any networking resources available from agri-industry’s actors can be used as an open source to increase product innovation. Product innovation is functioning through establishing interaction with all parties in networking resources. One important point to be taken into consideration by SMEs is the engagement aspect. Co-innovation becomes a crucial point so that SMEs do not perform innovation individually but supported by all parties in the network.[4]

By cooperating within networks, enterprises have better access to new knowledge which enhances the innovative potential of any business. Moreover, the cooperation between different partners along the value chain makes agri-food businesses cover a larger part of the chain.[5]

However, any agroindustry players who aim to be successful in the international market should be focused on their ability to produce products of added value. Value creation is an important factor in order to provide benefits and solutions to customers better than the competitors’ products. These products may be smarter, more innovative with more special characteristics. Value creation will maintain the sustainability of products in the international market.[6]

Why is absorptive capacity a crucial ability for SMEs’ open innovation ecosystem?

Take 3-5 minutes and think:

What is absorptive capacity?

Afterwards, think how you would explain to another person what absorptive capacity is as ability?

Write it down.

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