Exogenous crisis and the resilience of SMEs: exploring Open Innovation in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Open innovation is one of the most discussedthemes in managerial literature. However, there are still many questions that scholars have not yet answered. A research question of particular relevance today is: How can open Innovation help SMEs overcome and manage the economic crises caused by a pandemic?  In 2020, a global coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) emerged that has damaged several sectors, particularly by weakening the economy of small and medium-sized businesses. This paper addresses this issue by examining the literature available to date and provides a theoretical answer by investigating the influence of open innovation on the resilience of SMEs during the COVID-19 outbreak. The paper shows that several companies have leveraged open innovation to address the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. Moreover, open innovation can represent a winning strategy for SMEs in surviving extremely uncontrollable turbulences. A collaborative approach and an open mindset can be the right innovative strategy for SMEs to overcome a crisis caused by unpredictable exogenous factors.