Management Of Diversity In Open Innovation Processes

When managed properly, diversity can increase creativity and innovation performance, but it can also lead to processes losses due to task conflicts. To that respect, it is argued that diversity should be consciously managed, respectively, as any new product/process/ service development resources or efforts in order to find the right balance between different diversity sources. Thus, the main objective of this study is to develop a conceptual framework for managing diversity in open innovation processes. First, diversity as a research paradigm is introduced. Second, a framework for managing diversity including cultural, organisational, user-driven, cross-functional and disciplinary/cross-industry dimensions is presented. Finally, managing diversity with the help of portfolio management strategy is discussed.