University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

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analytical framework, this study aims at finding causal relationships between open
innovation (methods) and corporate responsible activities.
For that purpose, several examples of OIM were analysed. The research involved
empirical analyses of 6 German companies as follows:
- Two large companies in the field of building and habitation (construction
companies, apartment management companies)
- Two large companies in the field of mobility (transportation company)
- A small company in the field of mobility (internationally operating urban
mobility and services company)
- A medium-sized company in the field of diet (food production)
The companies were selected because of their engagement in CR, in sustainable
products or processes in the three defined activity fields/ industries. In addition, case
selection was based on the companies’ demonstrated willingness to use OIM. All
analysed interactive processes or OIM had to contain the following aspects:
• Involvement of and interaction between customers and/or company
representatives
• Mutual idea creation, exchange of values or knowledge
• High reference to sustainability or CR
Questions concerning sustainable or CR impact were: including the different
stakeholders’ interests, generating sustainable solutions or new sustainable products
and services, the level and way of improving of products and services, changing
intraorganisational routines and processes, implementing and realising open
innovation methods, motive, purpose and participants of interactive processes, level
of user interaction and integration, significance and specificity of sustainability or
CR issues, etc.. These main points are an extract of the investigation and literature
research of previous interactive processes.
Guidelines, questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews and action
research were used to obtain information on the dialogue processes using open
innovation methods. This field study employed semi-structured and thematically
focused interviews, which were supported by desktop studies of related documents
and action research (Mayring 2002; Yin 2003). In the period of March 2006 until
June 2009, a total of 12 persons from communication departments, management,
R&D, marketing and sustainability or environmental units were interviewed. In total,
6 stakeholder dialogues, 6 innovation workshops, 4 web-communities, 2 idea
contests and 1 toolkit were analysed.
Minutes, transcriptions and the composition of categories were used for data
preparation. Content analysis was used to interpret the data (Yin 2003). Data analysis
used a coding system according to the analytical framework, meaning each of the
factors was operationalised by several codes (Mayring 2003). A code system of
cause-effect combinations was developed to identify the conditions for using OIM
and the emergence of CR activities after having used OIM. The used qualitative case
study design allowed the analysis of complex social topics such as open innovation
processes and CR or sustainable development.