USERS GENERATED IDEAS VIA SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS: BASED ON THE OI MODEL

Leveraging on the keep-going growth of the use of social media networks within organizational environments, the relationship of these digital tools with the open innovation (OI) model was quantitatively explored in order to bridge the current gap in the literature review. Regardless of research on OI model refers to manufactory industry, just few scholars have relied this approach on the service industry but nobody has linked this to the social media networks. Therefore, this research seeks to evaluate the OI model through the use of SMNs by 374 small medium enterprises operating in the service industry in UK. This open approach involves the concept of online customers co-creation which called for user-generated ideas. Empirically, the relationships among user-generated ideas, the use of social media networks, the adoption of OI model, SMEs’ innovation performance are estimated by the structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings and discussion are argued based on the lens of OI model. Finally, academic and managerial implications were provided along limits and further research.