International Inbound Open Innovation and International Performance

• Author: Ana M. Romero‐Martínez,Pervez N. Ghauri,Fernando E. García‐Muiña
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/cjas.1454
• Published date: 01 December 2017
• Date: 01 December 2017

International Inbound Open Innovation and

International Performance

Ana M. Romero-Martínez*

Complutense University of Madrid

Fernando E. García-Muiña

Rey Juan Carlos University

Pervez N. Ghauri

University of Birmingham

Abstract

This work analyzes the relationship between international

inbound open innovation and international performance,

including the complementary role played by f‌irms’

intellectual capital. Based on a survey of 8,973 Spanish

manufacturing f‌irms, the f‌indings conf‌irm that externaliza-

tion by means of international inbound open innovation,

both strategically and f‌inancially, favours international

performance measured in terms of international patents.

Regarding the moderating effect of intellectual capital, the

results show that both human and technological capital

boost the impact of international inbound open innovation

on international performance. Organizational capital also

increases the benef‌its of f‌inancial inbound open innovation;

however, it impacts negatively in the case of strategic

inbound open innovation. The additional benef‌its of

externalization may add extra value to international

performance. Copyright © 2017 ASAC. Published by John

Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Keywords: international inbound open innovation, interna-

tional performance, international patents, intellectual capital,

externalization

Résumé

Le présent article porte d’une part, sur l’analyse de la rela-

tion entre l’innovation ouverte entrante internationale et la

performance internationale et, d’autre part, sur le rôle

complémentaire assumé par le capital intellectuel des

f‌irmes. Les données de l’enquête réalisée auprès de 8973

compagnies manufacturières espagnoles permettent de

conf‌irmer l’idée selon laquelle l’externalisation réalisée au

moyen de l’innovation ouverte entrante internationale

favorise stratégiquement et f‌inancièrement la performance

internationale évaluée en nombre de brevets internationaux.

Quant à l’effet modérateur du capital intellectuel, les

résultats montrent que le capital humain et technologique

stimule l’impact que l’innovation ouverte entrante

internationale exerce sur la performance internationale.

Par ailleurs, même si le capital organisationnel accroit les

avantages de l’innovation ouverte entrante f‌inancière, en

revanche, il inf‌luence négativement l’innovation ouverte

entrante stratégique. Enf‌in, les avantages supplémentaires

ajoutent de la valeur à la performance internationale. Copy-

right © 2017 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mots-clés: innovation ouverte entrante internationale, per-

formance internationale, brevets internationaux, capital

intellectuel, externalisation

Introduction

The international business research f‌ield has focused on

the factors (pushing and pulling) that induce f‌irms to pursue

operations in other countries (Dunning, 2000), as well as on

the analysis of the different ways of managing these

operations. As regards the latter issue, the debate involves,

on the one hand, those scholars who defend the benef‌its of

internalization (Rugman & Verbeke, 1995) and, on the

other, those who argue for greater benef‌its of externalization

(Pfeffer & Salancik, 1978). Among the activities liable to be

externalized in an international setting, innovations have

remarkable inf‌luence on the performance international of

f‌irms (Laursen & Salter, 2006; Lavie & Miller, 2008).

Externalizing innovation lets f‌irms integrate and develop

new knowledge from international sources and obtain

strategic innovations through an open innovation approach

(Chesbrough & Crowther, 2006). This approach can shed

This paper has been supported by Project ECO2015-67434-R of Spanish

Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Spain) and the Excellent

Research Group “Strategor”of URJC-Bank of Santander.

*Please address correspondence to: Ana M. Romero-Martínez,

Complutense University of Madrid. E-mail: amromero@ucm.es

Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences

Revue canadienne des sciences de l’administration

34: 401–415 (2017)

Published online 17 October 2017 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/CJAS.1454

Can J Adm Sci

34(4), 401–415 (2017)Copyright © 2017 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 401