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- Legal hindrances. SMEs often have problems when coping with the costS and
complications deriving from complying with new laws and regulations.
- Limited market share: SMEs might not have enough customers or consumers in their
selling market to justify large and reasonable investment in innovation.

The obstacles slowing or preventing employees’ involvement in boosting Open Innovation came out to be:
- Hesitation: A vague understanding of their role and responsibility or the impending effects
of their changes can make it uncomfortable for employees to be involved in boosting new
business activities.
- Little (or no Motivation): Employees might not feel motivated to participate to new ideas
or take initiative due to lack of recognition for their efforts or a feeling of disconnect
between their role and the company’s goals.
- Shame for possible failing: A shame, or even fear, of failing can prevent employees from
engaging in the process of enhancing business operations, since they are sceptic about the
outcome and thus are not running the risk of any change from their ordinary workflow.
- Lack of necessary time and focus: Working hours and ordinary tasks to be performed can
limit the quantity and quality of effort by employees in trying participate to new solutions
and ideas to improving business
- Behavioural issues: Employees might encounter awkwardness when dealing with
innovation as they might feel their job in danger because of new processes changing their
role, or afraid of showing disagreement towards some choices and decisions made by the
management.

Possible improving paths

It was almost generally admitted that there are several paths SMEs should follow in order to achieve a
better and wider diffused approach to Open Innovation practices:
- Develop a culture of collaboration: SMEs should hearten collaboration both internally and
externally. Encouraging employees to share ideas and work together on projects can help
generating new ideas and approaches, while cooperating with other colleagues, businesses and
departments can provide access to new pieces of information and new viable solutions.
- Participate in innovation networks and partnerships: SMEs should seek out innovation networks
and partnerships that can provide access to knowledge, expertise, and funding. Collaborative
networks can provide SMEs with opportunities to share resources and expertise, while
partnerships with research institutions can help to develop new technologies.
- Invest in R&D: SMEs should allocate adequate resources in R&D to support their innovation
efforts. By investing in R&D, SMEs can generate new ideas and develop new technologies that
can help them stay competitive in the market.
- Participate in government-funded programs: The government offers various programs and
funding opportunities to support SMEs in their innovation efforts, they should constantly

OPEN4U: intrOducing Practices in opEn innovatioN 4U - project number 2022-1-IT01-KA220-VET-000085295
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the
European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
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