Open Innovation, Generativity and the Supplier as Peer: The Case of Iphone and Android

The diffusion of various forms of digital technologies has acted as a disrupting force in several industries, promoting open and distributed innovation processes. In this paper we argue that the supplier in open innovation networks tends to get a more active role as a creative peer producer, rather than merely a contractual deliverer. A comparative case study of the mobile phone platforms iPhone and Android is used to analyze this shift in innovative value creation. The notion of generative capacity is introduced to the research on open innovation, suggesting that it is generativity rather than openness that drives the platforms' aggregated wealth. The two cases from the mobile phone industry illustrate that innovation initiatives can successfully approach generativity in different ways and that both openness and control are important to facilitate supplier contributions.