N’Doli Guillaume Assielou1
1 Laboratoire de Mathématiques et Informatique, UFR Sciences Fondamentales et Appliquées, Université Nangui Abrogoua, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Original language: English
Copyright © 2026 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to examine organizational forms of collaboration for innovation, and develop a clearer typology that reflects the practical realities of modern business. After a thorough review of literature, we draw on the three core processes – outside-in process, inside-out process, coupled process – introduced by Gassmann and Enkel in 2004 to conceptualize our typology of organizational forms of collaboration. This research reveals seven organizational forms of collaboration, each form is described in terms of three organizational and functional characteristics (governance mechanisms, work organization and interactions, and intellectual property rights). The findings of this study will provide managers with a more comprehensive understanding of the various organizational forms of collaboration that can be adopted to conduct innovation activities. This typology specifically addresses collaborations for innovation. The findings might not be generalizable to other collaboration goals.
Author Keywords: typology, innovation, collaboration, functional mechanisms, intellectual property, work organization.