How to practise Open Innovation today: what, where, how and why

Open Innovation (OI), a paradigm coined by Chesbrough in 2003, is not only ‘openness towards innovation’, it also represents a firm-view-point-based innovation strategy, which suggests the involvement of external actors in the innovation process. The present paper is part of an on-going discussion on open issues related to OI and the advantages, strengths, challenges and limits of its implementation, dealing with the frequently debated topic of the future of this paradigm. What has emerged from this study is that a clear one-way outline of the OI implementation process does not exist, either in the literature or in practical cases, but common catalyst points, such as a general ‘open’ attitude, the existence of a technology transfer approach, an Intellectual Property protection strategy, and the frequent use of search routines, are identifiable. However, the future of this paradigm is not clear, as the concept may fade away because the process could be fully integrated in the innovation process.