Openness and innovation: an empirical analysis in firms located in the Republic of San Marino

Opening up the innovation process to include collaboration with external partners is an increasingly common practice among firms. Today, also small and medium-sized firms appear to have understood the usefulness of forming alliances and building networks in order to compete in the knowledge economy. This paper aims to further investigate the actors, the phases of the innovation process, the dynamics and the determinants that prompt businesses in a small state such as San Marino, to collaborate in innovation beyond their company and territorial boundaries. A survey has been conducted among manufacturing companies operating in San Marino state with direct structured interviews to the company directors or persons in charge of R&D. Very few empirical analyses have been conducted in literature on this subject, and in general these analyses have not focused on Small and Medium Enterprises. Moreover, this paper investigated a territorial context (Republic of San Marino) which until now have never been analyzed in terms of innovation. From an academic point of view, the results fill a gap in the literature investigating the influence of competitive factors during the innovation process. Regarding the actors, the openness of NDP phases and the determinants of open innovation our study for the most part confirm the literature. The opening up of certain innovation activities is generally implemented with the aim of integrating and expanding new knowledge and skills and reducing a product’s time to market. With regard to the variables that influence the openness of the innovation process, the most important are time, added service and environmental friendliness. From a management point of view, this paper is especially useful to company directors and government agencies in activating, supporting and guiding innovation policies.