Open enterprise: How gratis and reputation foster innovation. In: Open software/hardware & innovation platform: how different forms of motivation promote collaboration

Companies can discover the seeds of great ideas from any nook of the world, and the internet has dramatically reduced their cost of access. A big challenge is represented by the new business models emerging from the web and based on the “gratis philosophy”. Recently a high number of new innovative enterprises, we named Open Enterprises, faced different competitive markets by fostering innovation both in products and services through open software and open hardware web platforms which offer tools, ideas and services for free and encourage the individual contribution and collaboration among customers, companies and contributors, the so-called crowdsourcing. The research investigates the functioning of the Open Enterprises’ business models and their contribution to traditional companies’ collaboration for innovation. Basing on literature and 116 webplatforms scanning and empirical analysis, we developed a theoretical framework which offers a systematization of the key building blocks of the Open Enterprise business models and their main characteristics, advantages/disadvantages in terms of contribution in the companies’ collaboration for innovation.