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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Examining Open Innovation in Science (OIS): what Open Innovation can and cannot offer the science of science

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Scholars across disciplines increasingly hear calls for more open andcollaborative approaches to scientific research. The concept of OpenInnovation in Science (OIS) provides a framework that integratesdispersed research efforts aiming to understand the antecedents,contingencies, and consequences of applying open and collaborativeresearch practices. While the OIS framework has already been taken upby science of science scholars, its conceptual underpinnings requirefurther specification. In this essay, we critically examine the OIS conceptand bring to light two key aspects: 1) how OIS builds upon OpenInnovation (OI) research by adopting its attention to boundary-crossingknowledge flows and by adapting other concepts developed andresearched in OI to the science context as exemplified by two OIS casesin the area of research funding; 2) how OIS conceptualises knowledgeflows across boundaries. While OI typically focuses on well-definedorganizational boundaries, we argue that blurry and even invisibleboundaries between communities of practice may more stronglyconstrain flows of knowledge related to openness and collaboration inscience. Given the uptake of this concept, this essay brings neededclarity to the meaning of OIS, which has no particular normativeorientation toward a close coupling between science and industry. Weend by outlining the essay’s contributions to OI and the science ofscience, as well as to science practitioners.