Opening innovation procurement

Public procurement plays a vital role in stimulating sustainable and inclusive European growth through innovation. Moving beyond primary goals of service improvement and cost reduction, innovation procurement practices of public agencies can pursue secondary goals such as innovation and sustainability. However, an increased focus on core competences has reduced internal capacity to conduct innovation procurement at a time when doing so is even more critical for cost-savings and growth. This dissertation examines open innovation for knowledge sourcing and revealing by public agencies practicing innovation procurement, focusing on tools of standards and standardization, collaboration, and intermediation. It begins with an introduction which gives an overview of key policy issues, theoretical underpinning, and research gaps. The second chapter examines conceptualizations of standardization according to eco-innovation procurement modalities, through a comprehensive qualitative literature review and synthesis including demand-setting, standards/standardization, and trajectories of products and services procured. The third chapter conducts an empirical and quantitative cluster analysis to identify the different practices of innovation procurement across Europe, testing and building upon taxonomies from literature. The fourth chapter presents a comprehensive case study of a pilot project by the Dutch Ministry of Defense, using constant comparative analysis to identify roles for different types of intermediation in innovation procurement for sustainability transitions. The fifth chapter focuses instead on the factors influencing competitiveness of German manufacturing firms in procurement competitions, finding that those conducting product innovation, as well as those engaged in standardization, are more likely to win such contracts. Through these in-depth analyses, this dissertation provides a contribution to the field of innovation procurement by delving deeply into open innovation processes. It concludes that mechanisms of standards, collaboration, and intermediation that can be leveraged to promote European growth through innovation procurement are inherently processes of consensus. This dynamic process is shaped by the motives, knowledge, and skillsets of participants shared through interactions, and structured by organizations and institutions. A concluding chapter highlights relevance for policy, practitioners, academia and industry, and presents opportunities for further research in innovation procurement and open innovation.

Author dc:creator

• Rainville, Anne Marie

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Blind, Knut
• Edler, Jakob

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Identifier URI

http://dx.doi.org/10.14279/depositonce-5514

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:depositonce.tu-berlin.de:11303/5921