University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

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contests are helpful in using the need- and solution-related knowledge of the people,
because the users will give information of both knowledge forms. Working with
communities often means to bushwhack; therefore companies should use
communities to address specific questions or problems to be solved and manage the
process likewise. However, communities can also be screened for new ideas and
solutions, but this is a very time-consuming and expensive process. Thus, it would be
better to combine an ideas contest with a community to develop specific ideas further
and to link it to theme-related already existing communities. The costs for the
development of a toolkit are currently very high, because of all the programming as
well as the coordination processes beforehand. Dialogues and workshops can have
reasonable costs, because they can be organised at a moderate level. The better and
more comprehensive the equipment should be the more expensive they will be.
Concerning CR impact there are two points of importance: (1) each open innovation
method has different potentials for identifying and developing CR/sustainability
issues or innovations. (2) The implementation and realisation of CR/sustainability
innovation depend on the companies’ strategy and willingness to CR/sustainability.
In tendency, the higher the level of integration is the more precise CR solutions are.
The higher the level of interaction is the more radical CR or sustainable solutions can
be. In practice, most ideas were incremental. In the small transport company from the
sample, for instance, environmental requirements, generated in an innovation
workshop, were transformed into technological challenges by engineers, product
developers and service personnel. This, in turn, led to the development of new ideas
and approaches to respond to the environmental requirements as well as deliver on
the organisation’s core products or services. In case of the construction companies,
their most important CR activities are the renovation of houses to a level of passive
or low-energy house usage and the construction of eco-residential areas with homes
using solar energy or plants. The realisation of new and innovative communication
strategies and marketing tools, generated in workshops, communities and ideas
contests, is an elementary component of CR management.
Conclusions and Discussion
This empirical study focused on the question how OIM can enable companies to find
new and sustainable solutions, and thus act responsibly. Despite the small sample
size, this survey allows to draw some conclusions from the relationship between
learning dynamics, the usage of OIM and sustainability innovation or CR activities.
Regarding the analytical framework three major conclusions emerge:
First, there is some evidence that OIM strengthen CR activities – at least they raise
CR/sustainability issues. Regarding sustainable or CR innovations it can be stated
that OIM have a different level of interaction and integration, and therefore diverse
possibilities to support sustainable and CR activities. Moreover, the companies’
values and openness are important. According to Walther’s (2004) empirical studies
a well-organised innovation management indicates a higher level of corporate
learning ability. The transfer of changed knowledge bases, assumptions, values and
capabilities is supported by structure and culture. From an economical point of view,
the success of dialogue processes is governed by institutionalisation. Ongoing