Developing Indicators of Open Innovation Event Outcomes

What is it about?

Extant literature on OI events lacks the perspective that the researchers have attempted to provide through their comprehensive approach. By considering different types of events and the perspective of each participant, the researchers have addressed the need to improve support programs and policies by identifying the system builders, strategies they use, and resources they require. This study contributes to the literature on innovation ecosystems and field-configuring events. It identifies methods to quantify the impact of an OI event on its ecosystem and on the various types of participants based on their specific roles, which specifically supplements previous field-configuring events literature. The differences in the field-configuring nature of events are also highlighted, as is the literature’s call for a consideration of temporal dynamics. Other theoretical contributions include a list of determinants to evaluate OI events’ success. Thus, the theoretical importance of OI events as a tool for managing the efficiency of innovation ecosystems is highlighted.

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Why is it important?

Despite their growing popularity, potential participants cannot easily justify the need to participate in them. There are no sophisticated mechanisms in place to manage and evaluate participation, and there is no evidence of their benefits. The lack of qualitative and quantitative data on participants’ needs makes it difficult to maximize their benefits. In addition, both participants and organizers face challenges in reaping the benefits of such events. This could explain why many OI events have failed to live up to the high expectations placed on them. Without a consensus on how to calculate benefits, marketing OI events to different potential participants is difficult.

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