Exploring collaboration in a networked innovation project in industry

The growing complexity caused by the increasing need to design product-service systems has forced companies to shape innovation networks. Networked innovation requires different stakeholders to design product service systems collaboratively. As a result, stakeholders do not only have different disciplinary backgrounds, but they also come from different organizations. This paper presents the findings of an explorative study in which we investigated how networked innovation differs from 'normal' innovation projects within a single company when it comes to collaboration. Based on a thematic analysis of a retrospective case study of a successful networked innovation project, we developed a conceptual model that represents the most important themes concerning collaboration in innovation networks. Finally, we reflected upon this model by comparing it to our literature review on collaborative design in multidisciplinary teams, which resulted in directions for future research.