Matchmaking as multi-sided market for open innovation

An obvious task in open innovation is to find suitable partners for collaboration. In this paper we present results from three participatory case studies of identifying and matching technology firms for collaborative innovation projects. We observe that matchmaking is a more complex process than an (online) market transaction. The cases show how innovation intermediaries organize the matching process as external service-providers and what economic contribution they can have. The paper conceptualizes matchmaking for collaborative innovation as economic resource allocation process in the shape of a multi-sided market which involves the innovation partners and intermediaries. The paper concludes with theoretical and practical implications that such a conceptual lens opens for exploratory technology analysis projects and the management of matching processes for partnership formation.