Open Innovation in Italy

The joint research project by Enel Foundation and LUISS has the objective of analyzing the phenomenon of Open Innovation (OI) in Italy, defining its multifaceted nature and setting it in the local context in order to assess its current characteristics and identify possible future developments.

The three-year research project, now at the beginning of the second year, starts from the paradox of a country whose national performance in terms of Innovation is low, but whose singular corporate cases are ranked among the top performers internationally. At the end of the process, the research aims to identify the factors allowing for the brilliant performances of Italian most successful companies - both blue-chips distributing billions in dividends and small-medium enterprises successfully competing in a highly competitive global arena - and replicate them in other companies. For this reason, the final outcome at the end of the research period will be an indicator able to relate Open Innovation’s state of the art and inform on future prospects, possibly taking into account the “human” factor as well as the external/corporate ones.

The project is currently focused in collecting and analyzing data. Italian enterprises can contribute to this project by answering an online questionnaire. The data collected will be anonymously processed to identify the dimension relevant for the construction of the OI index. Once consolidated, this tool will represent a useful self-assessment tool for the enterprises willing to improve their performance by embracing proven OI practices.