Title: Open models for innovation: an accounting-based perspective

Authors: Francesca Michelino; Emilia Lamberti; Antonello Cammarano; Mauro Caputo

Addresses: Department of Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy ' Department of Enterprise Engineering, Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, Via del Politecnico, 1, 00133 Roma, Italy ' Department of Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy ' Department of Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy

Abstract: The paper suggests an accounting-based framework for defining open innovation adoption modalities through the analysis of annual reports. Five models are described, depending on the costs, revenues, new investments and divestments in intangibles and knowledge assets related to open innovation. The framework is applied to a sample of 271 world top research and development (R&D) spending companies in the bio-pharmaceutical and the technology hardware and equipment industries. Annual reports data are examined for the period 2010-2012, with 813 statistical units analysed after a cross-section perspective. Results show that bio-pharmaceutical companies are twice open than technology hardware and equipment firms; the former mainly adopt a collaborative model for open innovation, by jointly developing research programmes with external parties, the latter prefer to incorporate other companies through the use of spin-ins. The paper contributes to the existing research by suggesting a pecuniary approach to evaluate open innovation adoption modalities. The framework can be used by companies for both monitoring their own open innovation positioning and benchmarking it with those of competitors.

Keywords: open innovation models; inbound; outbound; collaboration; R&D outsourcing; research and development; licensing; intangibles trading; incorporation; biopharmaceutical industry; technology hardware; technology equipment; accounting; annual reports; spin-ins.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2015.068778

International Journal of Technology Management, 2015 Vol.68 No.1/2, pp.99 - 121

Published online: 29 Apr 2015 *

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