About introvert incumbents and extravert start-ups: An exploration of the dialectics of collaborative innovation in the Dutch journalism field

Abstract

This article analyzes the way different types of news organizations address collaboration in innovation. A qualitative analysis of 31 expert interviews in the Dutch news field shows that especially incumbents are perceived internally oriented when it comes to organizing their innovation processes. Although they might acknowledge that the challenges are demanding and the stakes are high, they speak of innovation mainly in terms of competition, and are therefore still subject to a traditional bounded rationality. Also, in the Dutch context, the tensions between commercial news organizations and publicly financed news organizations are mentioned as obstacles to a more open approach to innovation. Newcomers and smaller organizations speak more in terms of synergy and describe the added value of opening up and working together to be able to face the future with confidence. In this article, this rather stereotypical conceptualization of collaboration in innovation is put in a critical perspective.