University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

ecological requirements may find their conventional way of operating fundamentally
challenged (Arnold 2007):
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- Processes, products and services need to be rethought and rearranged
- Completely new information and ways of thinking as well as new business
models and business ethics need to be integrated into management decisionmaking
processes
- New ways of external and internal communications with groups of
stakeholders need to be identified and implemented
- Companies’ basic values and knowledge systems need to be reflected and
changed.
These challenges will require new or recombined knowledge or ideas and
fundamental changes in corporate strategy and objectives for the majority of all
companies (Arnold 2007; Teece et al. 1998). Therefore, the use of open innovation
methods (OIM) and corporate learning become a key element of any effort to
implement CR and sustainability effectively within companies.
Although there is an extensive literature on the actions that have been taken by
companies, such as developing new modes of production and new products, initiating
new modes of participation or stakeholder engagement, less attention has been paid
to the role OIM and organisational learning play in influencing CR actions taken by
companies. With respect to open innovation methods, various stakeholders
representing different social positions and interests, such as NGOs, investors,
government bodies or consumers, can be integrated in open innovation processes (to
strengthen CR). Integrating users into the planning and development of innovative
products and services offer the following advantages: Asking future users about their
needs, ideas and solutions and taking this knowledge into consideration at an early
stage in the innovation process increases the likelihood that the final product will be
accepted and successfully spread in the marketplace. Additionally, regarding
sustainability/CR the social-ecological effects of sustainable consumption and
production can often be ascertained at an early point in time. The wide variations in
corporate responses to CR and sustainability open up a series of questions around:
- When and why do companies use OIM to integrate sustainability and socialecological
responsibility into business practices and strategies?
- What effects do these innovations generated by OIM have on CR?
- What do OIM promote or inhibit regarding CR?
Even though the management studies literature provides answers to these questions
in the broader context of corporate strategy, little has been written specifically on
OIM and CR. Shown the weaknesses in the theoretical frameworks, this chapter
seeks to advance the literature by examining empirical evidence from six Germanbased
companies in the fields of housing and construction, mobility and
transportation as well as diet which used OIM to develop sustainability innovations.
The article consists of six sections: sustainable change and CR, open innovation
methods, conceptual framework and methodology, results, conclusions and
consequences.