Innovation Strategy, from R D to Open Innovation; Review and Recommendations

This paper aims to review the concept of innovation strategy and elaborate the relationship between corporate strategy, innovation and innovation-strategy. In this regard, first, the literature on innovation strategy and open innovation is explained and some useful tools are presented. Each part of the review is concluded by an assertion. Finally, a conclusion constructed for the (seven) extracted assertions and a contingency process model of innovation strategy selection is presented to elaborate the conclusion. In brief, strategic perspectives to innovation are mostly assumed to have more introverted orientation, emphasizing the role of internal resources and distinctive competencies as the main drivers for long-term competitiveness. In recent years, the context for technological innovation has been changed and confronted by concepts like outsourcing, vertical disintegration and the use of open standards that led scholars to consider open innovation strategies as a new phenomenon of strategic management. Moreover, innovation is advised to go beyond new product development and become integrated with companies business models in terms of content, structure and governance. In general this reviews shows that, the need for business model renewal, the need for technological competency, breadth and depth of the knowledge, cost of R D, privacy and the extent of control over R D process could be considered as the main determinants of innovation strategy.