Open innovation and enabling role of policy makers : the case of Lombardy region

As the technological development is on a growing trend, innovation is becoming increasingly distributed and a fewer firms are able to go alone in this way. Traditionally industrial firms pursue relatively “closed” innovation strategies meaning limited interactions with the outside; while the increasing importance recognized to external sources of knowledge and innovation is threatening the closed model. Therefore Innovation approach applied by organizations has shifted from a closed system to an open one. In this new model of open innovation, companies import ideas from outside and let their own innovations enter the wider marketplace. On the contrary to the closed innovation model, open innovation is based on the recognition that valuable technologies and pieces of knowledge may originate from both within and outside the firm’s boundaries. Notion of open innovation was first proposed by Henry Chesbrough on 2003 and has quickly gained the interest of both researchers and practitioners. This research is focusing on Open Innovation and enabling role of policy makers in Lombardy region of Italy and it proceeds as follows: reviewing the open innovation literature, sorting it into different streams by discussing different points of view of top scholars. Next section develops a methodology in which companies (mainly SMEs) surveyed through a questionnaire engage in open innovation activities in the Lombardy region. The evolution of Lombardy’s economic structure and international position led the regional government to build up a network of public and private stakeholders in the effort of promoting the creation of new knowledge and supporting innovation at local level. Role of open innovation as a tool in the priority policies of Europe focusing on regional level also specified. The survey results indicate that open innovation is also becoming popular among SMEs and regional policies are playing effective roles in support of them.