Date of Conferral

2018

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)

School

Management

Advisor

Doron Zilbershtein

Abstract

Business leaders must adopt new business practices to sustain their organizations and meet the paradigm of global competition. In the 21st century, innovation and market readiness have become the primary criteria for sustainability of an organization. Some organizational leaders should adopt open innovation strategy to stay competitive and foster a positive impact on their organizations' performance while practicing a systematic inclusion of knowledge from sources outside of the organization. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore effective strategies business leaders use to cultivate a sustainable open innovation culture. The population consisted of leaders from 200 high technology organizations in the Washington, D.C. area. Purposeful sampling was used to select 4 organizations whose leaders demonstrated successful cultivation of open innovation culture. Schein's culture theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and review of the organizations' annual reports, publications, websites, and brochures. Data analysis was based on Vaismoradi, Turunen, and Bondas's systematic content and thematic analysis approach, proceding from study data to codes to themes. The outcome led to 4 primary themes: organizational strategic alignment, collaboration as a force multiplier for innovation, organizational culture change, and expert understanding of the customers' needs. Implications for positive social change include fostering innovative organizations whose members bring to the market cost-effective solutions and bridge between market needs and technological solutions. Members of innovative organizations impact underserved communities in terms of material wealth, social welfare, and employment opportunities.

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