Linking open innovation and competitive advantage: the roles of corporate risk management and organisational strategy

Purpose This study aims to analyse the effects of (1) open innovation on corporate risk management, organisational strategy and competitive advantage, (2) corporate risk management on organisational strategy, and (3) organisational strategy on competitive advantage. In addition, it assesses (4) the mediating effects of corporate risk management on the relationship between open innovation and organisational strategy. Design/methodology/approach This exploratory and transversal study takes a quantitative methodological approach based on survey data from 251 hotel executive directors from Portuguese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Findings The results confirm relationships between open innovation and corporate risk management, organisational strategy, and competitive advantage. They also confirm the importance of corporate risk management for organisational strategy and organisational strategy for achieving competitive advantage. The research demonstrates that corporate risk management has a mediating effect between open innovation and organisational strategy. Research limitations/implications The present study proposes a model which provides better knowledge of the relationships between open innovation, corporate risk management, organisational strategy and competitive advantage. The model uses various scales to create a robust analytical measurement instrument. This research provides an in-depth analysis of the psychometric properties of the structural model’s latent variables through PLS-SEM and shows the differentiated paths of the endogenous and exogenous constructs. Finally, the importance of the role of open innovation in the process of attracting the resources necessary, that is, organisational and technological resources, to successfully operate in the hotel sector is highlighted. Thus, this research fills existing gaps in the literature. Practical implications This research can contribute to the development of new instruments and programmes to improve the operational performance of SMEs in the hospitality sector. Understanding the relationship between the constructs will allow top managers to strengthen corporate resources, technologies and dynamic capabilities, and to promote entrepreneurial policies to enhance the relationship between open innovation and competitive advantage. Ultimately, the results of this study will allow governments, national, regional and local, to create policies, programmes and incentives to help firms adopt or extend the open innovation model, thus promoting the exchange of internal and external knowledge and strengthening the dynamics of the business ecosystem. Originality/value The paper discloses the relationships between open innovation, corporate risk management, organisational strategy, and competitive advantage, by identifying the main characteristics of the constructs and revealing the linkage between them. This pioneering study analyses the mediating effect of corporate risk management between open innovation and organisational strategy and those mentioned above.