Solving the heterogeneity puzzle: a comparative look at SMEs growth determinants in open and closed innovation patterns

This study enhances the current understanding of the extent to which the open innovation paradigm is embedded in SMEs by identifying and comparing three different and unrelated configurations of innovation practices (closed, partner-oriented and user-oriented innovation). It also contributes to the ongoing empirical debate on open innovation in SMEs by exploring the influence that new knowledge generation capacity, absorptive capacity and appropriation capacity exert as growth determinants in the different patterns. The results have both theoretical and practical relevance, giving consistency to the hypothesis that SMEs pursuing different innovation patterns have different paths to growth.