Open innovation in the food and beverage industry

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to extend our knowledge into the relationship between open innovation and firm innovative performance. Specifically, we aim to determine whether the benefits of OI practices are different for Food and Beverage (FnB) firms as compared to those of other sectors. The FnB industry is relevant in terms of employment GDP generation in the UE, characterised by high integration and low-tech intensity. Methodology: In order to achieve our goal and obtain robust results, we consider four open innovation dimensions and four innovation performance measures using panel data (2004-2011) from 10,771 FnB and non-FnB firms using Tobit and Logit models with random effects. Findings: We test and confirm the presence of the classical inverted U-shape relationship between OI and firm innovative performance for FnB and non-FnB companies. However, the optimal number of external sources of knowledge used is lesser for FnB than the rest of the companies. Originality: The article compares the OI effects in a traditional and low-tech industry vs other industries considering four innovation outputs (product innovations, process innovations, incremental and radical innovation).