Impact of the use of knowledge obtained through informal exchanges on the performance of innovation projects: for the enrichment of inbound open innovation practices
Résumé
This study aims to examine the relationship between the acquisition of knowledge through informal channels and performance of innovation projects. We propose that three forms of informal knowledge exchange, namely, knowledge sharing, knowledge presentation and knowledge transfer, positively impact the perceived performance of innovation projects. A survey of 360 individuals involved in innovation projects whose answers were analysed with PLSs reveals that knowledge, obtained through knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer with third parties outside the company by informal route and the simultaneous use of an innovation intermediary as part of these informal exchanges, positively impacts the three elements that have been chosen to measure the operational performance of innovation projects, namely, cost, time and quality. These results provide major contributions to the academic and managerial point of view and open up new vistas for research that derived directly from the demonstration that open innovation not only has to relay on formal agreements, but also to take into account the informal way of knowledge acquisition.