Intellectual Structure of the Open Innovation Field: State of the Art and a Critical Literature Review

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of open innovation. It positions the concept into a wider framework of scholarly research of innovation, discusses its historical development and its positioning within the wider area of innovation research. Using different types of bibliometric analysis, we estimate the impact of open innovation and continue with their contributions to the theory of innovation. While not a true paradigm shift as it used to claim, open innovation is a clearly defined innovation concept that brings important contributions to the theory of innovation, helps answering some of the key questions that were recognized by innovation scholars.