Open Innovation Adoption Barriers: A Multidimensional Meta-Synthesis and Contextual Prioritization Framework

Abstract

The objective of this study was to systematically identify, synthesize, classify, and prioritize the barriers to open innovation adoption by developing an integrated multidimensional framework that explains the interrelated organizational, behavioral, structural, capability-based, inter-organizational, and institutional obstacles that hinder effective implementation of open innovation across diverse organizational contexts. This study employed a qualitative meta-synthesis design following the seven-step procedure proposed by Sandelowski and Barroso. A systematic search was conducted across Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and specialized innovation management journals. The search covered studies published between 2003 and 2025 and used combinations of keywords related to open innovation barriers, challenges, and resistance. An initial pool of 312 studies was identified and subjected to relevance screening, conceptual boundary assessment, and quality appraisal. Ultimately, 24 peer-reviewed empirical studies were retained for analysis. Data extraction and synthesis were performed through open coding, axial coding, and selective coding procedures. A qualitative prioritization matrix based on frequency of occurrence and depth of emphasis across studies was subsequently applied to determine the relative significance of identified barriers. The meta-synthesis revealed a comprehensive taxonomy consisting of six major dimensions and 26 subcategories of barriers to open innovation adoption. The six dimensions included cultural-behavioral, organizational-managerial, knowledge and capability, structural-process, inter-organizational and network, and institutional-environmental barriers. Qualitative prioritization demonstrated that the most critical barriers were resistance to external ideas (Not-Invented-Here syndrome), organizational risk aversion, structural rigidity, misaligned incentive systems, and weak absorptive capacity. The findings further indicated that barriers are highly interdependent and operate as a systemic configuration rather than as isolated constraints. Contextual analysis showed substantial variation across organizational settings: bureaucratic constraints dominated public organizations, resource limitations and skill deficits were particularly salient in SMEs, structural inertia and cultural resistance characterized large firms, and ecosystem weakness and inter-organizational mistrust were especially prominent in emerging economies. Overall, cultural and structural barriers emerged as the most influential constraints on successful open innovation adoption, exceeding the relative importance of technological factors. The study concludes that the successful adoption of open innovation depends primarily on overcoming deeply embedded cultural, organizational, and governance-related barriers rather than merely addressing technological challenges. The proposed multidimensional framework advances understanding of how barriers interact across organizational levels and provides a practical basis for prioritizing interventions.