Open innovation process in developing-country manufacturing organisations: extending the Stage-Gate model

This paper explores how developing-country manufacturing organisations undertake open innovation activities along different stages of new product development (NPD) process. The data were collected through face-to-face interviews with senior research and development executives, and design and product engineers in three manufacturing organisations in Pakistan. The results suggest that inbound open innovation activities such as customer involvement, external networking and inward licensing were prevalent in selected organisations, whereas outbound innovation activities such as venturing or spin-offs and outward licensing of intellectual property were not practiced. The three cases add to the academic knowledge via the extension of Coopers Stage-Gate model of NPD. The proposed staged model of open innovation not only demonstrates the dynamics of open innovation along different stages of NPD, but also incorporates the enabling role of information and communication technology. Given the focus of current open innovation literature on developed regions, this study explores different stages of the open innovation process in developing-country organisations.