When firms involve external partners more actively in their innovation processes, managing knowledge flows across multiple boundaries becomes an important challenge. In this chapter we investigate specifically how organizational, knowledge, and geographical boundaries are bridged by two knowledge integration practices (project management and knowledge matching). We use data from a survey of 415 manufacturing firms on open innovation practices to illustrate how innovation performance relates to the three boundaries that are crossed and how the effects are contingent upon the use of project management and knowledge matching. A main conclusion from the study is that knowledge flows across multiple boundaries in open innovation can be successfully bridged by applying a combination of complementary knowledge integration practices.

Search for external knowledge is vital for firms innovative activities. To understand search, we propose two knowledge search dimensions: search space (local or distant) and search heuristics (experiential or cognitive). Combining these two dimensions, we distinguish four search paths - situated paths, analogical paths, sophisticated paths, and scientific paths - which respond to recent calls to move beyond "where to search" and to investigate the connection with "how to search." Also, we highlight how the mechanisms of problem framing and boundary spanning operate within each search path to identify solutions to technology problems. We report on a study of 18 open innovation projects that used an innovation intermediary, and outline the characteristics of each search path. Exploration of these search paths enriches previous studies of search in open innovation by providing a comprehensive, but structured, framework that explains search, its underlying mechanisms, and potential outcomes. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Vad betyder öppen innovation egentligen? Vilka utmaningar och möjligheter finns och vilka konsekvenser kan öppen innovation få för olika verksamheter? Öppen innovation har blivit ett omskrivet begrepp inom akademisk forskning det senaste decenniet. Även företagsledare och chefer på olika nivåer har börjat använda begreppet, som handlar om hur organisationer kan dra nytta av resurser och kunskap som härstammar från externa källor – och samtidigt låta den egna interna kunskapen gå utanför företagets gränser så att andra kan använda den. Den här boken samlar en betydande del av den svenska forskningen kring öppen innovation och belyser olika perspektiv. Hur öppen vågar man vara?