abstract
Search for external knowledge is vital for firms’ innovative activities. To understand search, we propose two knowledge search dimensions: search space (local or distant) and search heuristics (experiential or cognitive). Combining these two dimensions, we distinguish four search paths – situated paths, analogical paths, sophisticated paths, and scientific paths – which respond to recent calls to move beyond “where to search” and to investigate the connection with “how to search.” Also, we highlight how the mechanisms of problem framing and boundary spanning operate within each search path to identify solutions to technology problems. We report on a study of 18 open innovation projects that used an innovation intermediary, and outline the characteristics of each search path. Exploration of these search paths enriches previous studies of search in open innovation by providing a comprehensive, but structured, framework that explains search, its underlying mechanisms, and potential outcomes.
5. Discussion
The present study adds to conceptual developments related to the breadth and depth of the search space (Knudsen and Srikanth, 2014; Levinthal and March, 1993), and investigates how decisions about search heuristics (Gavetti, 2012; Grandori, 2013; Nickerson and Zenger, 2004) can increase the possibility of identifying novel solutions to problems. Based on the existing search literature (cf. Ahuja and Katila, 2004; Fleming and Sorenson, 2004; Gavetti and Levinthal, 2000; Laursen, 2012), we propose a depiction of search in open innovation represented by a combination of two search dimensions: the search space, which can be either local or distant (Garriga et al., 2013; Laursen and Salter, 2006; Piezunka and Dahlander, 2015), and the search heuristics, which can be either experiential or cognitive (Felin and Zenger, 2014; Sieg et al., 2010; Spradlin, 2012).
