Designing innovation contests to support external knowledge search in small and medium-sized enterprises

Companies are increasingly implementing ‘open’ search processes to access external knowledge. However, external knowledge search can be complex and costly, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which have fewer resources than larger firms. In this context, innovation intermediaries may support firms in searching external knowledge, thus reducing the related costs and uncertainty. Specifically, innovation intermediaries may design and deliver innovation contests on behalf of their clients. Nonetheless, there is a lack of understanding on how innovation intermediaries can design innovation contests tailored on SMEs. Accordingly, we have developed a structured methodology for designing innovation contests to support SMEs in external knowledge search. This methodology was developed through an action research project that involved an Italian innovation intermediary. The paper contributes to the literature on knowledge search processes by presenting an approach that SMEs can adopt to perform external search. The study also contributes to the innovation intermediaries literature by investigating how they can enhance their impact on SMEs' innovation processes. We also investigate how innovation contests can be designed to be more effective for SMEs. Finally, the paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the importance of defining specific Open Innovation policies to improve SMEs' innovativeness.