Open Innovation as a Product Development Strategy in the Pharmaceutical Industry: A Mini-Systematic Literature Review of the Conditions Shaping Value Creation

Pharmaceutical product development involves substantial uncertainty, long development cycles and high financial exposure, while relevant capabilities are distributed across organisational boundaries. Firms therefore source knowledge externally, yet external access does not automatically create value. This study asks what conditions shape value creation through open innovation as a product-development strategy in the pharmaceutical industry. A mini-systematic literature review using Scopus and Web of Science applied predefined eligibility criteria to identify 21 empirical, peer-reviewed studies published between 2016 and 2026, from which 15 were selected through documented comparative prioritisation. Template Analysis refined a theory-informed initial template across five coding cycles into 39 Level 1 codes, 12 Level 2 categories and five themes from 209 coded excerpts. Value creation depends on external search and collaboration configuration, absorptive and integrative capability, strategic, organisational and project conditions, and governance of exchange, risk and appropriation. Outcomes were multidimensional, with development speed, cost, project continuation, regulatory progression and financial value not necessarily moving together. Apparent inconsistency reflects differences between why configurations are selected and what they produce, and between the outcomes through which value is measured. Managers should therefore match sourcing configurations to project needs, internal capability and intended value rather than maximise openness. MSc Independent Study Project (dissertation), MSc International Business and Management, Faculty of Business and Law, University of Portsmouth, 2026. This is a student dissertation and has not been peer reviewed.