Transferring ideas as part of the innovation process: collaborative and non-collaborative approaches

Externally stimulated innovations require the aspects of the original idea to somehow move into the innovating organization. The way that these ideas may move between organizations may take a variety of forms – both collaborative and non-collaborative. To consider the implicit focus across the journal literature is respect of how these ideas are transferred, a text analysis using Leximancer of the abstracts of 311 relevant articles from seven journals for the period 2000-2007 was undertaken. It demonstrated that there is a clear emphasis upon collaborative behaviors in respect of innovation. In comparison, an analysis of 61 externally stimulated innovations in the bicycle industry highlighted the importance of ideas being transferred via non-collaborative means. Using a basic classificatory system concerning ideas transfer, the results of the existing literature meta-analysis are almost diametrically opposed to the empirical results attained. It is suggested that our focus on collaboration within innovation may be misplaced and that research is required to assess the relative importance of collaborative and non-collaborative behaviors that lead to the transfer of ideas in respect of the innovation process.