Reconnoitering the nexus between organizational culture and open innovation systems

Postmodern organizations strive to cultivate open innovation systems to foster product innovation and commercialization. Cultural dynamics can be a massive obstacle in flourishing the inbound and outbound open innovation in many organizations. However, little is known about the effect of different types of culture on the open innovation dimensions. This research aimed to investigate the role of cultural subtleties in nurturing inbound and outbound open innovation in the organizations. A quantitative research design was employed, and data were collected from a random sample of 231 managers from the automotive industry. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses using Smart PLS. The results indicated that hierarchy culture, associated with formal rules and regulations, negatively affects the inbound and outbound open innovation. The Market culture has a positive relationship with inbound and outbound open innovation while adhocracy culture could positively impact the inbound open innovation only. On the other hand, clan culture has a negative effect on the outbound open innovation. We concluded that the organizational culture focused on internal integrations is more suitable for outbound open innovation, and the type of organizational culture focused on external differentiation is more likely to support inbound open innovation.