CHARACTERISTICS OF OPEN INNOVATION CULTURES IN DIFFERENT REGIONAL CONTEXTS

This study investigates the patterns in regional culture that enable and enhance open innovation and drive the transformation towards an open innovation culture. Based on the existing literature on open innovation in regions, a framework of innovation dilemmas is developed to assess how regions can address seemingly conflicting demands and find a dynamic balance that is appropriate for the regional context in order to develop an open innovation culture. The framework is applied to three regions, in The Netherlands, representing different types of geographically centred open innovation networks, where empirical research has been conducted of the interaction in open innovation processes between firms, knowledge institutes, regional governments and innovation support agencies. The research shows that different regional contexts result in different requirements for cultures conducive to open innovation. It is concluded that the framework of innovation culture dilemmas can serve as an analytical tool to identify elements in the regional culture conducive to open innovation and/or hampering open innovation, and can be used by regional actors in the innovation system to identify necessary measures to support open innovation.