OVERCOMING "IMPERFECTIONS" OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE: THE BORDERLESS NATURE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN OPEN INNOVATION MODEL

Growth in the economy, changing consumer preferences, the climate for labour relations and technological progress are all exogenous events, part of an external environment to which an organisation reacts and which it does not fully control. These events all highlight the borderless nature of entrepreneurship. To ensure the success and progression of business, entrepreneurs require the ability to seize the opportunities identified and avert the threats presented by the external environment. Entrepreneurs aim to develop innovative approaches and ideas through establishing both formal and informal relationships and connections. These relationships take the form of collaborative partnerships both internal and external to the organisational network. This can be seen through partnerships with research centres, consultancy groups, other organisations and universities amongst others. However, unless effectively managed such collaborations and partnerships could be constrained through a variety of factors. Imperfections such as risk management, asymmetric information, and hold-up problems, all stand to disrupt these collaborative partnerships and limit opportunities for innovation. In order to address these issues, this research seeks to demonstrate how an entrepreneur overcomes these imperfections by adopting the open innovation model. Therefore a holistic case study will be presented to offer a deep and real story of a business in the UK. This research has been submitted to the 10th annual EuroMed academy of business (EMAB) conference focused on "global and national business theories and practice: bridging the past with the future". This study presents a summary of the theoretical development which will be deeply developed in a further publication, a holistic case study of a Scottish small to medium enterprise, and final remarks.