Intermediaries as Facilitators of Open Innovation : A case study on Science Park Jönköping’s SME network

Abstract: Background: Open innovation is a recently discussed concept, which contrasts the traditional way of innovating. After several large companies have already adopted this approach successfully, the academic debate continues about possible application of this concept for SMEs. Moreover, current literature highlights the importance of intermediated networks to support open innovation among these SMEs. Purpose: This study determines in what way intermediaries act as facilitators for open innovation in SME networks. The literature suggests several different functions that intermediaries execute, without being clear about the connection to open innovation. Therefore, we critically examined Science Park Jönköping as a potential facilitator for open innovation. Method: We conducted a single-case study on Science Park Jönköping’s SME network and collected qualitative data through in-depth interviews. The analysis of the data includes interpretations of the codes of the interviews as well as aggregations of these codes in an inductive way. Conclusion: Our study differentiates between two service levels Science Park Jönköping provides. Regarding the in-house environment, we conclude that intermediaries facilitate open innovation among SMEs through providing a supportive environment based on geographical proximity. As far as the networking projects are concerned, we conclude that regional intermediaries might be hindered to facilitate open innovation among SMEs due to the characteristic of their networks.