Open Innovation Strategies : A new pivot for OEM and Start-up Coopetition

Abstract: “[A]s much as any other product, the car has shaped not only the global economy but how billions of people live”1,whilethe digital area is nowshapingthe car.Coopetition, a strategy presenting firms with the opportunity to collaborate and compete at the same time,is becoming a prevalent phenomenonamong large OEMs and start-ups in the automotive industry.Respectively, considering that coopetition, in the context of open innovation and new technologies, has been identified as a successful strategy, this thesis will therefore analyse the relationship between OEMs and external start-ups in the context of coopetition and corporate open innovation strategies. Several typesof corporate incubators, accelerators and corporate innovation labs emerged within the last years, howeveran integration of all three of these has not yet been widely explored. Accordingly, while these open innovation streamsare used by large corporationsto get access to the start-upecosystemand increase their innovation capabilities, the relationship between OEMs and external start-ups will further lead to CIIAs (a combined approach of corporate incubators, corporate innovation labs and corporate accelerators),demonstratedin the context of coopetition. This exploratory study therebycontributes to the relationship between external start-ups and OEMsthrough aCIIA approach,answering the two following researchquestions;•What are the main drivers of the OEM and external start-uprelationship?•How do OEMs and external start-ups coopete in the context of corporate open innovation strategies?To dulyanswer these research questions, we choseaqualitative researchmethodcombined with an interpretivist and inductiveapproachas well asempirical findings generated from 6semi-structured interviews. We furthercontributed tothe illustrationof the key aspects of CIIAsas well asthe motives, management and implications behind the relationshipsbetween OEMs and external start-upsbyaconceptual framework. Our analysishence showsthe significanceof the access to complementary resources, the co-creation and co-development of value as well as the systematic implementation of a proof of conceptin the light of thesecoopetitive relationshipsbetween CIIAs and external start-ups.However, consideringthat thisresearch has been based on the German automotive industry only, it will require further research in other contexts, sectors or countries. To conclude, thisthesis contributes tothe management literature ofcoopetition, corporate innovation and entrepreneurship. We proposeda finalframeworkto highlightthekey motives, the management and the implications behind thecoopetitive relationshipsbetween OEMsand external start-upsthrough the CIIA platform.This willexpectedly help managers and entrepreneurs develop efficientmanagement techniques as well asfurther recognize and understand the influential dynamicspresent in these relationships