Exploring the dynamics of open innovation and artificial intelligence: A focus group study with experts

This paper explores the growing importance of artificial intelligence (AI) and its integration into open innovation, drawing upon the theoretical framework proposed by Broekhuizen et al. (2023). We adopted an exploratory qualitative approach—focus groups—and applied the model within a specific regional setting with the aim of understanding how experts perceive and implement AI applications to support open innovation practices. The findings confirm the growing role of AI as an enabler of open innovation, while also highlighting significant heterogeneity in how organisations adopt and interpret it. The nine functions that emerged from the focus groups show that AI is not only perceived as an operational tool but also as an object of governance, mediation, and ethics. The research serves both theoretical and managerial implications: theoretically, it enriches our understanding of the AI–open innovation intersection by revealing that AI’s roles go beyond technical functions, encompassing symbolic, regulatory, and ethical dimensions; managerially, it highlights how SMEs should adopt incremental AI strategies that emphasise small-scale experimentation, inhouse training, and the co-development of shared platforms with other ecosystem stakeholders.