Match and manage: the use of knowledge matching and project management to integrate knowledge in collaborative inbound open innovation

Despite mounting evidence on the potential benefits of inbound open innovation, little is known about how firms purposefully manage inflows of knowledge. We investigate the use of two knowledge governance procedures—project management and knowledge matching—in collaborative inbound open innovation. Our findings suggest that, in addition to “knowledge-precursors,” which the literature on open innovation and absorptive capacity has shown to be important for the integration of external knowledge, the firm’s choice of knowledge governance matters for innovation performance. JEL classification: O31, O32, C21.