Open Innovation and SMEs

Abstract

The need of innovation is a crucial part for companies that want to improve their products or services. The complexity of what affects innovation is amplified when we talk about SMEs. They have different kinds of resources with respect to multinationals, but like them, they increasingly need to find a way to compete in an international scenario which is characterized by globalization. For this reason, the main way for improving is to find the perfect method that fits with the firm's aims. Open innovation is one of these methods that could help enterprises with the innovation process. The focus of my thesis is to understand and analyze how a small an new company, founded by an Italian artisan, has been able to use techniques and solutions used in other sectors in order to to design and produce his product. In the first chapter there will be a brief description of the economic context after the crisis and the factors that affect the international landscape. After this delineation, there will be a theoretical approach of innovation, in particular of open source innovation. In the last part there will be the final analysis of the chosen company.