What can the EU Learn from the USA in the Field of Innovation?

  • Lindita Komani Research and Business Development at Campus Party, Tirana, Albania
  • Vito Bobek University of Applied Sciences FH Joanneum, Graz, Austria
  • Tatjana Horvat Faculty of Management, University of Primorska, Koper, Slovenia
Keywords: innovation, open innovation, USA, the EU, the European Commission, defense, culture

Abstract

The rationale for more European Commission (EC) support for Open Innovation is there, as a whole-of-society approach seems to be the best to address the challenges arising mainly from competition at the global level. This paper supported this view and was built as a case study research paper based on the EU and USA case studies. In the first sections, a theoretical framework is built, which establishes a link between R&D, innovation, and competitiveness, introduces culture and military as factors influencing innovation, and shows how open innovation has changed innovation. A discussion evolves regarding the current position of the EU and EU countries in terms of innovation and what the EC is undertaking to address the identified challenges. The core section is dedicated to the case study, elaborates benchmarks, gains learnings from a country successful in the field of (open) innovation such as the USA, and suggests what the EC could concretely implement in the case of the EU. The outlook section suggests a few possible areas for future research and policies.

Author Biographies

Lindita Komani, Research and Business Development at Campus Party, Tirana, Albania

Mrs. Komani has experience in founding of companies and consultancy. She is active at Kompass Inc.and Campus Party Tirana. She completed  Master of Science in the European Project and Public Management at the University of Applied Sciences FH Joanneum, Graz, Austria, with Distinction (for an outstanding examination, mark 1.0). 

 

Tatjana Horvat, Faculty of Management, University of Primorska, Koper, Slovenia

Prof. Tatjana Horvat works as an associate professor for Accountant and auditing at the University of Primorska, Slovenia. She is a Certified State Internal Auditor (licensed by Ministry of Finance RS) and Certified Internal Auditor for Business Sector and Certified Accountant (licensed by Slovenian Institute of Auditors). At the Ministry of Justice of Slovenia, she is a member of examination boards for court expert candidates and judicial appraisers in the following areas: economy/ finance, valuation of companies, banking, and forensic investigation of economic operations/ accounting. She has written more than 300 scientific and professional papers for international journals and conferences, books and manuals in the area of business accounting, public finance, and auditing. She was a guest of many international scientific and business conferences and universities.

References

Amato, I. (2018). Jump-Starting Innovation: DARPA’s Grand Challenges. In: DARPA 60 years 1958-2018. Retrieved 1 August 2020, from https://www.darpa.mil/attachments/DARPA60_publication-no-ads.pdf
Aspen Cybersecurity Group (2019). An Innovation Challenge for the United States. The Aspen Institute, 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2020, from https://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/an-innovation-challenge-for-the-united-states/
Atkinson, R. D. (2014). Understanding the US National Innovation System. The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, June 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2020, from http://www2.itif.org/2014-understanding-us-innovation-system.pdf
Avadikyan, A., Cohendet, P., & Dupouët, O. (2005). A Study of Military Innovation Diffusion Based on Two Case Studies. In Innovation Policy in a Knowledge-based Economy, edited by P. P. Llerena and Mireille Matt, 161-189. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-26452-3_7
Benoit, D. (2019). Move Over, Shareholders: Top CEOs Say Companies Have Obligations to Society. Wall Street Journal, 19 August 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2020, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/business-roundtable-steps-back-from-milton-friedman-theory-11566205200
Beugelsdijk, S., & Welzel, C. (2018). 'Dimensions and dynamics of national culture,' Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. 49, No. 10, November 2018. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022118798505
Beun, H., van Schaik, M., & Schout, A. (2019). The innovation potential of the EU budget 2021-2027. The policy brief, Clingendael – Netherlands Institute of International Relations, January 2019. Retrieved on 10 May 2019, from https://www.clingendael.org/sites/default/files/2019-01/PB_Innovation_EU_Budget_0.pdf
Bogers et al. (2016). The open innovation research landscape: established perspectives and emerging themes across different levels of analysis, Industry, and Innovation, 24:1, 8-40. https://doi.org/10.1080/13662716.2016.1240068
Business Roundtable. (2019). Innovation Nation: An American Innovation Agenda for 2020. Business Roundtable, January 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2020, from https://s3.amazonaws.com/brt.org/BRT_Innovation_Nation_Agenda.pdf
Chesbrough, H. (2020). Open Innovation Results. Going beyond the hype and getting down to business. Oxford University Press, 2020. Kindle Edition. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198841906.001.00001
Chesbrough, H. (2003). Open Innovation – The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology. Harvard Business School Press, 2003.
Chesbrough, H, Vanhaverbeke, W., Bakici, T., & Lopez, H. (2011). Open Innovation and Public Policy in Europe. ESADE Business School & the Science I Business Innovation Board AISBL.
DARPA. (2016). Innovation at DARPA. July 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2020, from https://www.darpa.mil/attachments/DARPA_Innovation_2016.pdf
Dembosky, A. (2013). Silicon Valley rooted in backing from US military. Financial Times, 9 June 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2020, from https://www.ft.com/content/8c0152d2-d0f2-11e2-be7b-00144feab7de
Dugan, R. E., & Gabriel, K. J. (2013). “Special Forces” Innovation: How DARPA Attacks Problems. Harvard Business Review, October 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2020, from https://hbr.org/2013/10/special-forces-innovation-how-darpa-attacks-problems
European Commission. (2016). Open Innovation, Open Science, Open to the World, 2016. https://doi.org/10.2777/061652
European Commission. (2019a). Horizon Dashboard – H2020, FP7 Project Results: Reported IPRs and Scientific Publications. Release Note of March 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019, from http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/other/dashboard/190320-release-notes_en.pdf
European Commission. (2019b). Enhanced European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot. Retrieved on 30 April 2019, from https://ec.europa.eu/research/eic/index.cfm?pg=funding
European Commission. (2019c). EU Budget for 2021-2027: Commission welcomes provisional agreement on Horizon Europe, the future EU research and innovation program. Press release. Retrieved on 20 March 2019, from http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-1676_en.htm
European Council. (2018). Simpler use of EU funds: Council confirms deal with Parliament, 19 April 2018. Retrieved on 10 May 2019, from https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2018/04/19/simpler-use-of-eu-funds-council-confirms-deal-with-parliament/
European Council. (2020). Special meeting of the European Council (17, 18, 19, 20, and 21 July 2020) – Conclusions. EUCO 10/20, 21 July 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020, from https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/45109/210720-euco-final-conclusions-en.pdf
EU Monitor. (2018). Omnibus regulation: simpler rules for the use of EU funds adopted. 16 July 2018. Retrieved on 10 May 2019, from https://www.eumonitor.eu/9353000/1/j9vvik7m1c3gyxp/vkq3elp3cgzp?ctx=vgaaaujza2vo&v=1&d=23-09-2018&start_tab0=20
Executive Agency for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. (2020). Deep Tech Europe: European Innovation Council Pilot Impact Report 2020, September 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020, from https://ec.europa.eu/research/eic/pdf/ec_eic_deep-tech-report-2020.pdf
Feulner, E. (2018). America is Still the Home of Innovation. Heritage Foundation, 4 April 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2020, from https://www.heritage.org/conservatism/commentary/america-still-the-home-innovation.
Friedrich Naumann Foundation. (2020). EU Budget 2021-2027: What is in It for Europe's Defence? 6 August 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020, from https://fnf-europe.org/2020/08/06/eu-budget-2021-2027-whats-in-it-for-europes-defence/
Global Innovation Index. (2018). The Global Innovation Index 2018: Energizing the World with Innovation, Cornell University, INSEAD, WIPO, Ithaca, Fontainebleau, and Geneva. Available online at https://www.globalinnovationindex.org/ gii-2018-report. ISBN 978-2-38192-000-9
Global Innovation Index. (2019). The Global Innovation Index 2019: Creating Healthy Lives, The Future of Medical Innovation, Cornell University, INSEAD, WIPO, Ithaca, Fontainebleau, and Geneva. ISBN 979-10-95870-14-2.
Greenwald, T. (2013). Secrets of DARPA's Innovation Machine. Forbes, 15 February 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedgreenwald/2013/02/15/secrets-of-darpas-innovation-machine/
Gruber, J., & Johnson, S. (2019). Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth and the American Dream. PublicAffairs, 9 April 2019. Kindle Edition.
Hofstede Insights. (2020). Country comparison, USA. Retrieved 30 July 2020, from: https://www.hofstede- insights.com/country-comparison/the-usa/
Hofstede, G. (2011) Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context, Online Readings in Psychology and Culture. Available online at https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol2/ iss1/8/ (accessed 12 January 2020).
IdeaConnection. (2013). How the Military is Embracing Open Innovation. 29 May 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2020, from https://www.ideaconnection.com/blog/innovation/how-the-military-is-embracing-open-innovation.html
Julius Raab Stiftung. (2015). Eine Open-Innovation-Strategie für Österreich: Grundlagen, Handlungsfelder, Maßnahmen, Juni 2015. Retrieved on 15 April 2019, from: http://www.juliusraabstiftung.at/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Open-Innovation.pdf
Marrécau, C. (2019). JEDI – Joint European Disruptive Initiative – the European DARPA. FuturaMobility, 8 January 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2020, from https://futuramobility.org/en/jedi-joint-european-disruptive-initiative-the-european-darpa/
Mawad, M. (2020). Meet the JEDI fighting Covid…and for Europe’s tech future. Sifted, 5 June 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020, from https://sifted.eu/articles/jedi-innovators/
Mazzucato, M. (2018), Mission-Oriented Research & Innovation in the European Union. Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, 21.02.2018. https://doi.org/10.2777/360325
Naudé, W. (2019). The Surprising Decline of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the West. The Conversation, 8 October 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2020, from https://theconversation.com/the-surprising-decline-of-entrepreneurship-and-innovation-in-the-west-124552
Rader, S. N. (2018). Opening Up Innovation at NASA. Retrieved 1 August 2020, from https://www.slideshare.net/crowdsourcingweek/opening-up-innovation-at-nasa-nasas-open-innovation-toolkit-and-experience?from_action=save
Schmid, J. (2017). The Diffusion of Military Technology, Defence and Peace Economics. https://doi.org/10.1080/10242694.2017.1292203
The Task Force on American Innovation. (2019). Second Place America? Increasing Challenges to US Scientific Leadership, May 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2020, from http://www.innovationtaskforce.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Benchmarks-2019-SPA-Final4.pdf
The University of South California on Case Study Research Papers. (2020). USC Libraries. Research Guides. Retrieved 1 August 2020, from https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/casestudy
US Government. (2019). US Government Open Innovation Summit: Transformation Through Citizen Science and Prize Competitions, 14 June 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2020, from https://digital.gov/pdf/Open-Innovation-Summit-June-2019.pdf
Van Atta, R. H. (2018). DARPA – The Innovation Icon at 60. In: DARPA 60 years 1958-2018. Retrieved 1 August 2020, from https://www.darpa.mil/attachments/DARAPA60_publication-no-ads.pdf
Vincenti, D. (2018). Return of the JEDI: European disruptive technology initiative ready to launch. Euractiv, 14 March 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2020, from https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/return-of-the-jedi-european-disruptive-technology-initiative-ready-to-launch/
Watney, C. (2020). America’s Innovation Engine is Slowing. The Atlantic, 19 July 2020. Retrieved 20 August, from https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/americas-innovation-engine-slowing/614320
West, J., & Bogers, M. (2017). Open innovation: current status and research. Organization & Management Volume 19, 2017 - Issue 1. https://doi.org/10.1080/14479338.2016.1258995
World Economic Forum and McKinsey. (2019). Innovate Europe Report 2019, p.4. Retrieved 15 April 2019, from http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Innovate_Europe_Report_2019.pdf
Published
2021-03-15
Section
Articles

Most read articles by the same author(s)

Obs.: This plugin requires at least one statistics/report plugin to be enabled. If your statistics plugins provide more than one metric then please also select a main metric on the admin's site settings page and/or on the journal manager's settings pages.