Open entrepreneurship: a project on collaborative innovation between large and small firms

Purpose and goal

The purpose of the project is to create research-based knowledge of how open innovation processes can be managed through collaboration between large established companies and smaller, entrepreneurial startups - what we call open entrepreneurship.

Expected results and effects

We expect a mutual increase in competence and an exchange of knowledge between academia and companies. Concrete deliverables from the project are: models for when/where/how innovation partnerships between small and large companies are appropriate; and methods and tools for managing, directing and organizing open entrepreneurship.

Planned approach and implementation

We will primarily follow a qualitative research approach in two parallel work streams. We start the study by identifying interesting "cases" in the participating organizations. Through interviews and observations, we will follow projects over time and based on analysis we develop knowledge and recommendations for both research and practice. As a parallel workflow, we act as a sounding board for participating organizations.