Open business models in entrepreneurial stages: evidence from young Spanish firms during expansionary and recessionary periods

This study examines the effect of open business models on the innovation performance of young firms during expansionary and recessionary periods. Founded on previous studies regarding innovation and business models, evidence shows that open business models developed by young firms will increase their innovation performance independently of economic conditions. Moreover, the theoretical effect of different types of collaborations (science-based, commercial, and diverse collaborations) adopted by young firms could differ during diverse economic periods. We tested this theoretical development using a Tobit analysis with firm level data collected from the Spanish Technological Innovation Panel (PITEC). The total number of observations corresponds to 318 young Spanish firms in 2005 (expansionary period) that remained active in 2011 (recessionary period). Our results indicate that in expansionary periods, young Spanish firms benefit from open business models oriented toward diverse types of cooperation (even though commercial collaboration harms innovation performance), whereas in recessionary periods, commercial and diverse technological collaborations encourage young Spanish firms to exploit innovation benefits.