The effect of open innovation on technological entrepreneurship capabilities in high-tech firms: a fuzzy analysis

Technological entrepreneurship capabilities (TEC) offer a set of capabilities that help a firm to perform better in the exploration and exploitation of environmental opportunities. Open innovation (OI) concept is based on the knowledge in- and outflows across organisational boundaries. This study aims to discuss the link between OI and TEC. Literature review reveals a partial correlation between TEC and OI. The effort involve in identifying a set of relations between OI mechanisms and TEC dimensions in high-tech firms. A conceptual model and three scenarios have been investigated using fuzzy cognitive mapping. The scenarios deal with the effects of 'out-in', 'in-out', and coupled mechanisms of OI on TEC, respectively. Results revealed that implementing OI improves TEC, but the exploitation of 'in-out' mechanisms would leave a greater effect on technology paradigm and linkage dimensions, whereas the 'out-in' mechanism would rather affect the learning capabilities.