Abstract

In this study, we examine the characteristics of firms and their surrounding environment and investigates their likelihood to develop the international openness in innovation. Our survey contains data on 1,408 manufacturing firms’ in China which conduct open innovation activities, and the research span extends from 2005 through 2007. Using the Heckman model, we examine the factors which influence the firms to undertake international open innovation (OI), such as the dynamic environment, the uncertainty faced by firms, the different strategies of firms and government support received by firms. It turns out that there is a direct positive relationship between international orientation and international OI. The technology dynamics and endogenous uncertainty also significantly explains the improvements in firms’ international open innovation performance. Discussions and analyses are given to these findings. All these findings extend the literature in organizational learning and supplement the resource-based view with the external environment. Both managerial and academic implications are presented for further study.