The open eco-innovation mode. An empirical investigation of eleven European countries

This paper deals with the open innovation mode in the environmental realm and investigates the effects\r\nthat knowledge sourcing has on the environmental innovations (EIs) of firms. Using the Community Innovation\r\nSurvey (CIS) 2006–2008, we refer to the firm’s probability of both introducing an EI and extending\r\nthe number of EI-typologies adopted. We estimate the impact of the ‘depth’ and ‘breadth’ of knowledge\r\nsourcing. In addition, we test for the moderating role of the firm’s absorptive capacity. Knowledge\r\nsourcing has a positive impact on both types of EI-performance. However, a broad sourcing strategy\r\nreveals a threshold above which the propensity to introduce an EI diminishes. Cognitive constraints in\r\nprocessing knowledge inputs that are too diverse may explain this result. Absorptive capacity generally\r\nhelps firms to turn broadly sourced external knowledge into EI. However, internal innovation capabilities\r\nand knowledge socialization mechanisms seem to diminish the EI impact of knowledge sourced\r\nthrough deep external interactions. The possibility of mismatches between the management of internal\r\nand external knowledge, and of problems in distributing the decision-makers’ attention between the\r\ntwo, may explain this result.