Open innovation in software engineering: a systematic mapping study

Open innovation (OI) means that innovation is fostered by using both external and 5 internal influences in the innovation process. In software engineering (SE), OI has existed 6 for decades, while we currently see a faster and broader move towards OI in SE. We there- 7 fore survey research on how OI takes place and contributes to innovation in SE. This study 8 aims to synthesize the research knowledge on OI in the SE domain. We launched a system- 9 atic mapping study and conducted a thematic analysis of the results. Moreover, we analyzed 10 the strength of the evidence in the light of a rigor and relevance assessment of the research. 11 We identified 33 publications, divided into 9 themes related to OI. 17/33 studies fall in the 12 high–rigor/high–relevance category, suggesting the results are highly industry relevant. The 13 research indicates that start-ups have higher tendency to opt OI compared to incumbents. 14 The evidence also suggests that firms assimilating knowledge into their internal R&D activ- 15 ities, have higher likelihood of gaining financial advantages. We concluded that OI should 16 be adopted as a complementary approach to facilitate internal innovation and not to substi- 17 tute it. Further research is advised on situated OI strategies and the interplay between OI 18 and agile practices.