Competencies for open innovation: an empirical test for entrepreneurs in technological incubators

Open innovation increases performance of incubating firms but the competencies that entrepreneurs need to succeed in this new context of innovation are still unknown. This study aims at expanding our understanding of open innovation competencies by testing 1/ whether the "competence profile for open innovation" identified by du Chatenier et al. (2010) applied to entrepreneurs, and 2/ the relevance of some management technical competencies highlighted in managerial literature. For that purpose, we collected data on competencies from 70 entrepreneurs in six technological incubators in Romania. Entrepreneurs rated their competencies and indicated the extent to which they use each of them in their open innovation projects. Descriptive data showed the relevance of competencies for open innovation from the academic literature but indicated that technical managerial competencies were rated lower than the others. Factor analysis did not fully confirm the theoretical clusters of the competence profile but only tended to show the hierarchical structure distinguishing between self-management competencies and task-management competencies. Regressions showed that competencies for open innovation are more related to radical innovation than incremental and organizational innovation. Our study contributes to entrepreneurship literature by highlighting the relevance of the competence profile for entrepreneurs. Knowing what competencies for open innovation entrepreneurs require and how to measure them has direct and important managerial implications. Incubator managers can assess self-management competencies to select entrepreneurs who have a better chance to succeed. They can also assess entrepreneurs' task-management competencies to better train them if needed.