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The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the use of open innovation (OI) practices and firm performance, and the role of organizational mechanisms (OMs) (formalization and decentralization) as moderator variables.

The authors build a theoretical framework to define a set of hypotheses that are then verified in an empirical study. These theoretical propositions are tested by using the data gathered from a survey addressed to 244 firms in Spanish low- and medium-technology industries.

With regard to inbound practices, the practices oriented to cooperate with partners in a R&D context have a positive influence. The results show that outbound practices, either by direct generation of revenues from licensing payments or, more indirectly, through the indirect marketing and technical benefits that can stem from revealing have a positive effect on firm performance. Coupled practices, which are related to participation in clusters and innovation networks, have the highest impact on firm performance. In the industrial context examined, decentralization exerts a positive effect which enhances the effect of outbound practices meanwhile formalization reduces their positive effect.

This study helps practitioners in low- and medium-technology firms to determine which OI practices are most beneficial to firm performance and how formalization and decentralization can influence the relationship between OI and firm performance.

This study helps determine the influence of OI practices in terms of inbound, outbound and coupled types through an analysis of low- and medium-technology firms. The OI literature is enriched by the types herein of the role of OMs, which includes an analysis of how formalization and decentralization moderate the influence of OI practices on firm performance.

This paper seeks to examine empirically from a contingency perspective the influence of business strategy on the relationship between operations strategy and business results.

Analysis is carried out on a sample of 76 Spanish ceramic tile firms. Data on strategies are gathered by means of a postal survey addressed to operations managers and information on firms' results is drawn from secondary sources. Operations strategy is represented by competitive priorities and business strategy is based on Miles and Snow's typology. Relationships are modelled in regression equations including interaction terms in order to test for the existence of a moderating effect.

Existence of a moderating effect of business strategy on the relationship between operations strategy and firms' results is demonstrated. Specifically, in defender firms, the cost and quality priorities influence positively, whereas priorities of delivery and flexibility have a negative effect. No influence of operations strategy on firms' results is observed in analyser or prospector firms.

Limitations of this research include the reduced number of organisations investigated and the fact that all companies belong to a single industry. Also, the fact that strategy variables are based on self‐reporting measures identified by a single respondent.

Practitioners must bear in mind the coherence between operations strategy and business strategy. In this work, details of business and operations strategy fits are given.

The fit between operations strategy and business strategy is studied by focusing on the moderating role of business strategy.

Most academic work usually explains organizational learning as a simple translation of individual learning. To fill this gap, this article focuses on the analysis of organizational learning as an iterative process in which group learning level is important. In this way, the model of organizational learning and knowledge generation presented in this article integrates the ontological and epistemological dimensions of knowledge and may be useful for knowledge management in organizations.

This paper aims to offer an understanding of the actions which facilitate the open innovation achievement in companies from the management of their human capital. Although innovation contributes to keep competitive advantages in time, small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) hardly innovate because of the high expenses involved. The current problems also demand solutions that incorporate characteristics which are responsible for both the environment and society.

The actions in the study are called “Detonating factors of innovation,” and they obey the practices taken from a thorough exercise of systematic review on the previous scientific literature in the ISI Wok and Scopus databases for the period 2007-2019. Articles associated with open innovation and organizations were also reviewed, along with those containing detonating factors.

Human capital is exposed in this study as the primary and fundamental resource of any organization with the capacity to modify and impose the social and environmental factors in the solutions to global problems process. Thus, it was found that the detonating factor is linked to the selection of employee profiles, training, resource availability, incentive models, communication and work environment.

Open innovation literature is based more on large companies than on small ones, and in almost no case is it sought to be a tool for social development, but for technological development. The contribution of this study allows the advancement in the state of the art and also serves as an instrument to inspire SMEs to associate for innovation purposes, apart from including socially and environmentally responsible characteristics.

The purpose of this paper is to examine combinations of contract clauses in order to ascertain which combinations correlate to high operational performance (OP).

Two hypotheses were formulated from contracting theory and tested on data collected from 45 projects. Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis was used and validated with multiple regression and simulation.

The hypotheses were tested to determine whether combinations of classical, relational, and/or associational contract clauses correlate to high OP. The results show that whereas high OP correlates to combinations of relational and associational contract clauses, classical and relational clauses should not be combined.

Directions are proposed to guide future research in order to produce a more nuanced testing of contractual complementarity.

The managerial implications of the findings include a more thorough understanding of the use of contract clauses and of which clauses managers should combine to achieve high OP.

This study contributes to the theory of contractual incompleteness and complementarity, specifically in the context of project contracting. The analysis produced two theoretical implications: first, that better performing contracts are created when combining relational and associational contract clauses; and second, that in projects, relational and classical contract clauses are not complementary with regards to realizing high OP.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the determinants of successful eco-innovation processes, using R&D intensity and green patents as metrics for eco-innovation measurement and analysis.

The paper reports the results of a quantitative study based on a sample of 2,218 firms with proactive profiles in eco-innovation, 249 of which have green patents registered in Spain or in the European Union.

The results suggest positive relationships between the activity of eco-innovation of firms with both the innovation activity in firms and the R&D intensity. The findings also confirm the influence of implementing innovation in the financial performance of business.

The results will be useful for future studies on the subject and for practitioners making decisions on investments in collaborative R&D and its protection through industrial property in the form of green patents. The main determinants of eco-innovation analysed in this paper can be directly translated into practices because they provide information on how to strengthen these determinants in environmental R&D investments and the registration of green patents.

The results will be useful for future studies on the subject and for practitioners making decisions on investments in collaborative R&D and its protection through industrial property in the form of green patents. The main determinants of eco-innovation analysed in this paper can be directly translated into practices because they provide information on how to strengthen these determinants in environmental R&D investments and the registration of green patents.

Despite the popularity and potential impact of the eco-innovation on economy or society, it has fallen short in terms of its potential to improve financial performance in firms. This paper argues that the level of eco-innovation activity explains some variability in financial performance. In fact, those firms that have greater levels of innovation increase their performance.

Explorar los determinantes del éxito de los procesos de ecoinnovación, utilizando la intensidad de I + D y las patentes verdes como indicadores para la medición y el análisis de la ecoinnovación.

Se analizan y presentan los resultados de una investigación cuantitativa basada en una muestra de 2218 empresas con perfiles proactivos en ecoinnovación, de las cuales 249 tienen patentes verdes registradas en España o en la Unión Europea.

Los resultados sugieren relaciones positivas entre la actividad de ecoinnovación de las empresas con su actividad de innovación y la intensidad de la I + D. Los resultados también confirman los efectos que la implementación de innovaciones tiene sobre el desempeño financiero de las empresas.

La medición de la ecoinnovación es incluso más compleja que la medición de la innovación debido a sus aspectos ambientales intrínsecos. Se podría alcanzar una evaluación más profunda con un mayor número de variables y una muestra más grande.

Los resultados serán útiles para futuros estudios sobre el tema y para los profesionales que toman decisiones sobre inversiones en investigación y desarrollo en colaboración y su protección a través de la propiedad industrial en forma de patentes verdes. Los principales determinantes de la ecoinnovación analizados en este estudio pueden traducirse directamente a las prácticas, ya que proporcionan información sobre cómo fortalecer estos determinantes en las inversiones en I + D ambiental y el registro de patentes verdes.

A pesar de la popularidad y el impacto potencial de la ecoinnovación en la economía o la sociedad, se ha quedado corto en cuanto a su potencial para mejorar el desempeño financiero de las empresas. Este estudio sostiene que el nivel de actividad de ecoinnovación explica cierta variabilidad en el desempeño financiero. De hecho, aquellas empresas que tienen mayores niveles de innovación aumentan su desempeño.

This study aims to define and measure the capabilities applied by firms to waste-related patents and their relations with the businesses economic performance to support decision-making towards a circular economy (CE).

A model of cause-and-effect relationships between firms' waste-related patents and the firm' capabilities was defined within the dynamic capabilities' theoretical framework. Empirical results were obtained by applying partial least squares structural equation modelling to a sample of 2,216 Spanish firms that hold 120,406 patents.

Results revealed the importance of the innovation capabilities of firms related to patenting, such as collaborative innovation, persistence in patenting or the capabilities to collaborate with research institutes, as drivers of level of waste patents to improve the businesses economic performance.

The systemic nature of the CE at the firm level suggests future research focused on the environmental divergence that appears when the innovation on waste fall outside the regular domain of its industry. Another topic to be investigated is related to the full text of patents that could improve the results of this study.

The definition of indicators to measure investments in the CE is complex, but it is necessary to assess progress in the closing of material loops at a micro level and to report the investments in waste-related patents in a circular model to the stakeholders involved in the economic management of the company.

Measuring CE-related patents and the specific capabilities needed for patenting in a circular framework is an understudied topic, and this study opens a specific line of inquiry enhancing the knowledge of CE within the dynamic capabilities' theoretical framework.

This chapter addresses research results regarding the past and current messages disseminated about Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) in Romania, as well as how new messages about CCUS are perceived by stakeholders. The research was conducted within the ACT ALIGN CCUS Project, funded by the European Commission to accelerate the demonstration and implementation of CCUS by addressing specific R&D gaps across the CCUS chain (act-ccs.eu/align). Media analysis and website analysis were conducted in Romania to identify the current and past core messages about CCUS used in society, while focus group research was conducted to test new core messages among citizens in Romania. The media analysis results show that media coverage and representations of CCUS for the time periods analysed were low in Romania, while the overall tone of the articles identified was relatively positive, as expressed by the division of arguments in favour of versus against CCUS. The CCUS topic is scarce on stakeholder websites in Romania. The results of the focus group study show that participants in the industrial area considered both environmental and economic benefits important, whereas participants in the non-industrial area considered environmental benefits more important. Most of the participants in the two focus groups expressed concerns about the safety of storage and transport, expressing the need to prevent further climate change. The CCUS messages testing shows the need for clarity, accessibility and appeal to citizens’ personal interests. This research was relevant for investigating the public debate on CCUS technologies in its early stages of development.

Business models are constantly innovating to adopt international trends. Business models are shifting toward sustainable practices to meet expectations and standards and keep on with the rest of the competitors in their industries. Recently, sustainability took a greater emphasis, and this chapter seeks to describe the main sustainability initiatives generated in international markets. Through a qualitative study made of secondary sources, strategies aligned to different sustainability initiatives are shown. Interestingly, adopting technology, digital transformation, and blockchain can enhance sustainable development.

This paper aims to investigate the impact of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies on knowledge creation for innovation purposes by assessing the relationships among the variety of I4.0 technologies adopted (breadth I4.0), the penetration of these technologies within the firm’s value chain activities (depth I4.0) and the mediating role of both internal (inter-functional (IF)) and external [with knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS)] collaborations in this process.

The study employed a quantitative research design. By administering a survey to entrepreneurs, chief operation officers or managers in charge of the operational and technological processes of Italian manufacturing firms, the authors collected 137 useful questionnaires. To test this study's theoretical framework and hypotheses, the authors ran regression and mediation analyses.

First, the results highlight the positive link between breadth I4.0 and depth I4.0. Moreover, the results show the key role played by increased collaboration among the firm’s business functions and by relationships with KIBS in creating knowledge to innovate processes and products when I4.0 technologies are adopted.

The variety of I4.0 technologies adopted enables a firm to use such technologies in various value chain activities. However, the penetration of I4.0 into the firm’s value chain activities (depth I4.0) does not per se directly imply the production of new knowledge, for which a firm needs internal collaboration among different business functions, in particular with the production area, or collaboration with external partners that favor I4.0 implementation, such as KIBS.

To achieve innovation goals by creating new knowledge, especially in the manufacturing industries, firms should encourage internal and external collaboration when I4.0 technologies are adopted. Moreover, policy makers should not only consider fiscal incentives for the adoption of such technologies, but also encourage the building of networks between adopting firms and external actors.

The study is one of the first attempt that provides empirical evidence of how I4.0 enables the creation of knowledge to innovate processes and products, highlighting the relevance of collaboration both within the company and with external partners.