Introduction: the need for a comprehensive view

A new research paper, "A taxonomy of competition-based approaches as innovation policy measures to foster external knowledge search," published in the Journal of Knowledge Management, aims to provide a comprehensive view of the different competition-based approaches that policymakers can exploit to foster external knowledge search. The authors argue that while many companies have implemented initiatives to access external knowledge to increase their innovativeness, limited attention has been devoted to investigating these approaches from the policymakers’ perspective.

Methodology: a two-stage empirical analysis

To develop a taxonomy of competition-based approaches, the researchers carried out a two-stage empirical analysis. The first stage involved a multiple case study methodology, including a sample of 20 competition-based approaches. The second stage involved interviews with Italian and European key informants.

Findings: a novel taxonomy

The paper proposes a novel taxonomy including eight competition-based approaches, which differ from each other in terms of policy strategy, scope breadth, and output required. This taxonomy enriches a well-established taxonomy of innovation policy instruments with the identified competition-based approaches.

Implications: guiding policymakers

This study contributes to the current debate on innovation policy by providing a taxonomy that includes eight competition-based approaches that can be exploited by policymakers to foster external knowledge search. The taxonomy will hopefully support policymakers in identifying the most suitable instruments in light of their policy strategy and objectives.

About the researchers

The research team comprises:

• Paolo Landoni, Department of Management and Production Engineering, Politecnico di Torino
• Simone Franzò, Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering, Politecnico di Milano
• Davide Viglialoro, Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich, UK and the Department of Management and Production Engineering, Politecnico di Torino
• Alessandro Laspia, Department of Management and Production Engineering, Politecnico di Torino,
• Roberto Verganti, House of Innovation, Stockholm School of Economics and the Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering, Politecnico di Milano