Appropriation strategies and open innovation in SMEs
Summary. UK small and medium-sized enterprises use appropriation mechanisms—both formal and informal—as a threshold to shift from closed to open innovation strategies. The study finds that emphasizing appropriation helps firms decide whether to engage in open innovation, but neither formal nor informal approaches significantly increase the depth of open innovation activities. Only informal IP protection correlates with greater inbound open innovation.
Cite this article
Freel, M., & Robson, P.. (2016). Appropriation strategies and open innovation in SMEs. International Small Business Journal Researching Entrepreneurship. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242616654957
Freel, Mark, and Paul Robson. “Appropriation strategies and open innovation in SMEs.” International Small Business Journal Researching Entrepreneurship, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242616654957.
Freel, Mark, and Paul Robson. 2016. “Appropriation strategies and open innovation in SMEs.” International Small Business Journal Researching Entrepreneurship. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242616654957.
@article{freel-2016-appropriation-strategies-open-innovation-smes,
title = {Appropriation strategies and open innovation in SMEs},
author = {Mark Freel and Paul Robson},
journal = {International Small Business Journal Researching Entrepreneurship},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1177/0266242616654957},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242616654957}
}
TY - JOUR TI - Appropriation strategies and open innovation in SMEs AU - Mark Freel AU - Paul Robson JO - International Small Business Journal Researching Entrepreneurship PY - 2016 DO - 10.1177/0266242616654957 UR - https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242616654957 ER -
Details
- DOI
- 10.1177/0266242616654957
- Countries
- United Kingdom
- Regions
- Europe
- Categories
- entrepreneurship, innovation-theory, general-innovation
- Added
- 2026-04-28