Open innovation as an alternative to support growth: The coupled processes emphasized

The concept of `coupled processes' is widely recognized in the open innovation literature. However, there is little evidence on how growth strategies based on coupled processes are put into practice, leading, thus, to the lack of a relevant strategy formulation framework. In this regard, the paper develops a generic framework for describing the formulation of open strategies that emphasize on coupled processes. In particular, the focus is placed on two dimensions, i) potential partners (customers, suppliers, competitors, complementors) and ii) outcomes of the partnership (internal commercialization, external commercialization, new venture creation), yielding a 4-by-3 matrix. The proposed framework is applied to Creta Farm SA, an innovative firm that enters into `coupled open innovation processes' as a means to achieve growth. In fact, two relevant Creta Farm partnerships are analysed, one with a competitor leading to the creation of a new venture and one with a complementor leading to internal commercialization. While the first partnership intensified existing competitive advantages, the second created new difficult-to-imitate competitive advantages now routed in a mutually beneficial relationship. Finally, further research is suggested to identify a number of other firms that follow at least two coupled processes as a means to achieve growth. The aim is to fill-in the quadrants of the here-proposed matrix with partnerships based on couple processes, providing thus a solid background for a new, alternative to the existing, growth strategy.