Abstract

In this paper we examine how firms perform open innovation in the context of an emerging economy.
Specifically, we investigate how Jordanian pharmaceutical firms collaborate internationally, over a period of
time, for open innovations and how this influences their innovation performance. The research is based on four
detailed case studies of leading firms. We find that participating in international collaboration has a positive
influence on open innovation performance, but only when the form of collaboration is highly integrated and the
internal R&D can absorb and adapt innovation. In particular, the greater the degree of open innovation, the
higher the innovation performance. Internal R&D and external innovation strategies are found to complement
each other, demonstrating that a strategy of open innovation is not a substitute for internal capabilities, but rather
a development path to developing higher innovation performance.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.