Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the use of open innovation (OI) practices and firm performance, and the role of organizational mechanisms (OMs) (formalization and decentralization) as moderator variables.Design/methodology/approach: The authors build a theoretical framework to define a set of hypotheses that are then verified in an empirical study. These theoretical propositions are tested by using the data gathered from a survey addressed to 244 firms in Spanish low- and medium-technology industries.Findings: With regard to inbound practices, the practices oriented to cooperate with partners in a R&D context have a positive influence. The results show that outbound practices, either by direct generation of revenues from licensing payments or, more indirectly, through the indirect marketing and technical benefits that can stem from revealing have a positive effect on firm performance. Coupled practices, which are related to participation in clusters and innovation networks, have the highest impact on firm performance. In the industrial context examined, decentralization exerts a positive effect which enhances the effect of outbound practices meanwhile formalization reduces their positive effect.Practical implications: This study helps practitioners in low- and medium-technology firms to determine which OI practices are most beneficial to firm performance and how formalization and decentralization can influence the relationship between OI and firm performance.Originality/value: This study helps determine the influence of OI practices in terms of inbound, outbound and coupled types through an analysis of low- and medium-technology firms. The OI literature is enriched by the types herein of the role of OMs, which includes an analysis of how formalization and decentralization moderate the influence of OI practices on firm performance.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to show how 3D digital technology can bring value to the fashion industry by analysing the specific benefits it offers along the value chain. Additionally, the authors show some of the challenges ahead identified for both software and fashion firms. Design/methodology/approach: The authors present by means of a case study the experience of an haute couture designer who used 3D digital technology – in collaboration with a recognised 3D software company – for developing his first luxury footwear collection. Findings: The enhancement of creativity and a better communication with suppliers are just some of the benefits identified in the case study from the use of 3D digital technology. In addition, challenges such as the development of a digital culture or the need for technology simplification are drawn from the case. Practical implications: Apart from the benefits and challenges drawn from the case study, which can be useful to practitioners in this industry, the authors also identify the collaboration through which the experience took place as an interesting practice to implement as a previous step of a digital transformation strategy. Originality/value: Despite the growing interest the fashion industry is showing in the use of new digital technologies, academic research on this topic is still scarce. Therefore, the case study presented in this paper adds value to the literature showing how 3D technology can help fashion from concept to consumer.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the dual contribution of action research (AR) both for research as well as business practice, and how this methodology puts into practice a win-win collaboration between researchers and practitioners. In order to get this, we define three specific objectives: first, we develop an evaluation framework to assess the contribution of AR methodology for research and practitioners in the field of management. Second, we use this framework to evaluate the dual contribution of AR in the specific field of operations management (OM) through a systematic literature review, which allows to analyze a set of 62 papers. Third, we identify opportunities and challenges to enrich the dual contribution of AR studies in OM. Main findings show that the evaluation framework developed represents a tool that may be useful to assess the dual contribution of any study based on AR in the field of management. Besides, the analysis of AR in the field of OM highlights that most of the papers identified are focused on “theory building” (research) and “implementation” (practice) as there are studies that have used AR to develop contributions based on “theory testing” and “theory elaboration,” and also in terms of “diagnosis” and “proposals.” Finally, this study signals that, with the aim to assure research rigor and relevance of practitioners’ contribution of AR studies, it is relevant to give one step ahead and to develop actions such as the use of AR as a metamethodology, to highlight those relevant findings in the whole AR cycle and to develop tools and mechanisms that strengthen its dual contribution, in terms of both research and practice.

This paper focuses on university–firm relationships in terms of individual interactions between researchers and practitioners. More specifically, we focus on an analysis of the main factors that influence the use of the action research (AR) to achieve a successful doctoral thesis. In order to achieve this, we developed a Delphi study with 15 panelists whose common characteristic is that they defended or supervised an AR-based thesis in the field of business and management. The primary contribution of the research is the development of a reference framework that should be considered in the design of a doctoral thesis for which an AR methodology is put into practice. Four dimensions were defined: profiles of both the PhD candidate and supervisor, PhD program/university, and firm/organization. Three main conclusions were reached. First, it is crucial to have a cooperative “eye-to-eye” relationship between the university and the company. Second, the AR process must respond unequivocally to its own dichotomous nature. Third, there must be a straightforward academic process for the PhD thesis. We believe that this study may impel the development of doctoral theses based on AR as a tool to potentiate collaborative university–firm relationships.

This study pretends to highlight the usefulness of developing action research (AR) projects as a way to develop a set of integrated studies based on a dual contribution: academic and managerial ones. The concept of AR Project goes one step ahead in terms of AR methodology as an extended case study. We describe an specific AR Project associated to a doctoral theses in the field of innovation intermediation. As main results, we have learned from this experience that (1) the relationship between researchers and practitioners must be collaborative and based on trust and commitment, (2) an AR Project is broader and more complex than a case study, (3) the diffusion of research results must be differentiated for practitioners and academics, and finally, (4) the AR Project is an open and collaborative innovation practice.

Supply Chain Management (SCM) is a nearly new discipline of management that can be seen in different ways. However, only a strategic approach of SCM that leads to subsequent tactical decisions and operational implementation will provide the benefits that scm promises. A presenta­tion of the evolution of scm from its beginnings as part of Operations Management (OM) to an independent field in management has the objective of determining its correct scope. Therefore, this work examined papers where the research agenda of both om and scm —from the beginnings of these disciplines to these days— has been discussed, in order to show the evolution of SCM as a field of high relevance in OM. The strategic nature of SCM and the importance of considering this discipline in such a way is emphasized, arguing that is a narrow view thinking of scm as directly related to logistics as its main focus, since this logistic vision creates a bias that limits the real scope of SCM. In order for this strategic vision of SCM to be correctly implemented, it is crucial to know both how the role and the profile of SC managers should be.