Can open innovation approach be applied by latecomer firms in emerging countries

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight the contextual factors of open innovation approach and its feasibility for latecomer firms from emerging countries.Design/methodology/approach – As a theoretical research paper, the paper builds on literature covering various dimensions of open innovation, e.g. open business model, and national innovation system (NSI).Findings – The paper argues that, in general, the open innovation approach is inapplicable in emerging countries. However, the different extents of openness in using open innovation method relate to the development stage of the capabilities of firms and a country's NSI, for instance in China.Originality/value – This paper advances the understanding of the research question: whether emerging countries with weak capabilities, in both firms and national systems of innovation (NSI), can employ the open innovation approach to accelerate their technological learning and development. Further, the authors also draw theoretical implications for emer...