Research Article Review

Citation:

Title of Research Article:

A RISK MITIGATION MODEL IN SME'S OPEN INNOVATION PROJECTS

Author: Eliza Laura CORAÇ, Adrian Dumitru TANTÄU

Journal: Journal of Small Business Management

Volume: 8

Issue: 2

Pages: 303-328

Year: 2013

Publisher: Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest

Place of publication: Bucharest

Objectives of the study:

1. Seeking to place the concepts of open innovation and risk management in the context of SME.

2. To define a comprehensive structure of internal and external risks residing in open innovation and which are weightier for SMEs than for larger companies.

3. To raise awareness on the factors that help mitigate the risks met by SMEs in their innovation process.

4. To build up a theoretical risk mitigation model on the feedback of 211 SMEs which answered to the cross-sectional survey.

Research Problem:

The paper is designed to show the motives SMEs pursue open innovation agreements, the benefits they reap, the barriers encountered for opening their boundaries to external collaborations and the risks these cooperation partnerships involve. It is sought to explore which risks raise the greatest concerns, which need most to be addressed to, what potential mitigation factors can be applied and which risks they are more likely to tackle.

The study is intended to make the path for future researches in the risk management area of open innovation in SMEs, analyzed on the background of developing countries.

Methodology:

Survey was done which targeted 500 SMEs from the region of Bucharest and primary data was collected.

The data were collected via a cross-sectional survey approach and analyses were done based on 211 questionnaire responses received. 

The sample was disproportionally stratified across manufacturing and service industries, over 70% of SMEs being service providers.

Cross-Impact Analysis was chosen since it is a powerful tool for taking a set of events and examining the potential causal...