External knowledge sharing and radical innovation: the downsides of uncontrolled openness

Paavo Ritala, Kenneth Husted, Heidi Olander, Snejina Michailova · 2018 · Journal of Knowledge Management

Summary. Uncontrolled sharing of business-critical knowledge with external partners damages firms' radical innovation performance through accidental knowledge leakage. A study of 150 Finnish technology firms found that excessive openness in knowledge sharing significantly reduces radical innovation outcomes, though incremental innovation remains unaffected. Firms pursuing radical innovation must carefully manage what knowledge employees share externally and with whom.

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Ritala, P., Husted, K., Olander, H., & Michailova, S.. (2018). External knowledge sharing and radical innovation: the downsides of uncontrolled openness. Journal of Knowledge Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/jkm-05-2017-0172

@article{ritala-2018-external-knowledge-sharing-radical-innovation,
  title   = {External knowledge sharing and radical innovation: the downsides of uncontrolled openness},
  author  = {Paavo Ritala and Kenneth Husted and Heidi Olander and Snejina Michailova},
  journal = {Journal of Knowledge Management},
  year    = {2018},
  doi     = {10.1108/jkm-05-2017-0172},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1108/jkm-05-2017-0172}
}

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TI  - External knowledge sharing and radical innovation: the downsides of uncontrolled openness
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AU  - Kenneth Husted
AU  - Heidi Olander
AU  - Snejina Michailova
JO  - Journal of Knowledge Management
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Details

DOI: 10.1108/jkm-05-2017-0172
Countries: Finland
Regions: Europe
Categories: innovation-theory, innovation-networks, general-innovation
Added: 2026-04-28