Specifying Orchestrating Capability in Network Organization and Interfirm Innovation Networks

Open innovation in interfirm networks has been a popular topic for long, and the focal firm with orchestration capability will enhance its innovation performance through networks. However, only recently, researchers started to study SME’s open innovation and networks, especially those from the low-tech industry. Besides interfirm networks, some organizational researchers are interested in the internal network organizational design. Prospector firms putting innovation on top of the agenda usually has a network organization which is more flexible. This paper analyzes how an SME from a traditional industry implements its blue ocean strategy through purposively build multi-level networks, i.e. an intra network organization and interfirm innovation networks. In order to get more innovation output from external and internal networks, orchestration capability is needed and should be applied both externally and internally.