Designing an Open Innovation Model in Active Small and Medium Sized Enterprises through Grounded Theory (Case Study: Food Industries in Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari Province)

The main purpose of this study is designing an open innovation model in active small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of national food industries. The research is conducted through grounded theory method. Semi-structured interviews with 25 managers (practical field) and academic experts (scientific field), selected by theoretical sampling method, were used for creating the sample. Codes and components of open innovation (355 key concepts, 34 sub-categories, and 11 main aspects) were derived from the interviews and were codified in a conceptual model based on grounded theory. Based on the research findings, the central category was “open innovation”. The casual conditions contained two dimensions, namely internal factors (key capabilities, organizational dimensions, modern research, management of intellectual property management, characteristics of SMEs, and characteristics of food industries). External factors contained business model and environmental changes. The desired strategies contained facilitative strategies (searching, boundary-spanning, outsourcing, networking, monitoring partnership), technological opportunities strategies including input, output, and interactional. The contextual conditions included organizational strategies (manager’s personal characteristics and cultural infrastructures), and the environmental conditions (market dynamism and legal infrastructure). The interfering conditions affected strategies via challenges of resources, dynamic capabilities and uncertainty. Finally, they led to internal consequences (improvement of organizational preparation, recruitment capacity and cultural infrastructures), external consequences (observation, environmental intelligence, improvement of business model, improvement of cooperation capabilities and improvement of outsourcing), and interactional consequences (co-creation).