Open innovation and start-up development. The C(h)aos problem

Open innovation is a relevant approach to support the development of established companies as well as startups in the contemporary economy. Entrepreneurs are increasingly using this approach to develop new products, services and processes fostering the rule that collective intelligence wins against the single innovator. Interestingly, public bodies are increasingly supporting the development of open innovation tools to assist companies. Many regions are supporting the development of accelerators to support the development of startups. Thus, open innovation is used both by private firms and public bodies. In the Region Friuli Venezia Giulia, in the northeast of Italy, the local Government has developed a program to support start-uppers creating specific tools dedicated to helping new entrepreneurs to fine tune their business ideas. The program's name is Imprenderò, and it offers various free educational as well as consulting services to promote the entrepreneurial culture, teach the basics of management, organization, accounting, and business planning, and help start-uppers to define their strategy, and build their investment plan and budget. This paper employs a mixed method approach, to analyze both quantitative as well as qualitative data coming out from the program. Data are collected during the years 2011-2012. The study employs a multiple case study approach, using the Culture-Ambience-Organization-Strategy (CAOS) model by Paoloni (2011), to deepen variables that affect the opportunity brought by open innovation approaches, trying to understand also the differences between male and female entrepreneurs. Interestingly enough, the effectiveness of the program appears to be strongly related to some variables. More precisely: culture and competitive ambiance, as well the organization and strategy decided by the start-uppers influence the effectiveness and efficiency of open innovation tools. The study is novel and useful for several reasons. First, it allows first to detect variables that influence the likelihood of venture opening, with particular reference to the knowledge transfer to and from start-ups, also considering the gender issue. These results can build within existing literature review on entrepreneurship, as well as knowledge management. Additionally, the case study methodology can gather insights about how entrepreneurs have embraced difficulties in providing managerial suggestions. The overall results might be useful for policymakers to develop concrete actions to support entrepreneurship. Finally, the sample may be considered relevant since the program granted free access to everybody, and therefore covered the all population of the single area analyzed.