Open Innovation Thinking as a Mechanism for Strategic Development of Knowledge Intensive Ventures

Despite the significant number of studies conducted in the general area of entrepreneurship and management, little attempt has been made to systematically gather evidence on the innovation strategies pursued specifically by new knowledge intensive ventures, and how open innovation may influence the development of such ventures. This create a lack in our understanding of the mechanisms affecting knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship, its relation to open innovation and the outcome hereof, as well as the understanding of the linkages between the concept of open innovation and entrepreneurship. Relevant questions on the specificities hereof remain unanswered. This is the starting point of the current research study. In order to research the identified gap in knowledge, we address the following research question in this paper. How do strategic considerations unfold in the context of knowledge intensive venture creation, in relation to the recognition and development of innovative opportunities?