Open innovation systems in developing countries: Sustainable digital networks and collaboration in SMEs

Abstract

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries may gain numerous benefits when collaborating with external partners during their innovation projects. Their limitations to innovate independently direct them toward other subjects, with whom collaboration is of mutual interest. However, SMEs in developing countries are also found to face many obstacles while engaging in this kind of relationship, so it is not easy to translate experiences from developed countries into this context. There are many online tools that foster this type of collaboration, but SMEs in developing countries are rarely able to design and maintain this kind of ecosystem on their own. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how SMEs in developing countries may successfully utilize digital networks to collaborate with external partners. The goal of this paper is to provide insights for practitioners in developing countries into how to design and maintain digital networks for open innovation (OI). This paper provides a brief review of contemporary collaboration tools that are effectively used in OI, which is followed by a review of obstacles that SMEs face when trying to use digital networks. Finally, the paper provides conclusions about the practices that these SMEs could use to collaborate online using appropriate tools.