The importance of connecting open innovation to strategy

Companies that are experienced in open innovation integrate open innovation activities as part of their strategy. By contrast, open innovation research has not been adequately integrated into the strategy literature and vice versa. In this chapter, we discuss a number of existing strategy fields that offer inroads to connect open innovation to strategy. The need to connect open innovation to strategy is illustrated by describing how companies increasingly organize new business development projects through open innovation ecosystems where an increasing variety of partners do not only act as sources of innovative knowledge but also provide input to a joint strategizing process.