Par la promotion de l’innovation en réseau, les instruments de dynamiques territoriales sont devenus aujourd’hui des outils de support indispensables à la compétitivité des entreprises et à la croissance des nations. C’est dans cet esprit que sont conçus les pôles de compétitivité dans le dispositif français de 2005. L’innovation collaborative à l’échelle des pôles de compétitivité vise en premier lieu à créer des débouchés nouveaux, c’est-à-dire à générer des innovations prêtes à être diffusées sur les marchés. Or, si les réseaux d’innovation ont été largement étudiés à travers des outils de pilotage, de gouvernance et de coordination, par la finance, la propriété intellectuelle ou les pratiques de RH, par la formation, par la confiance entre les partenaires, par les externalités, ou encore par la dynamique des PME, une carence persiste dans les recherches actuelles à propos de l’orientation stratégique composite des réseaux d’innovation, en particulier l’orientation marché ou client dans la dynamique des projets/acteurs. Les premiers rapports d’évaluation des Pôles dénotent au demeurant, des écueils relatifs à une collaboration propice à des innovations prêtes pour l’accès aux marché et la stabilisation de problèmes liés au fonctionnement, à la gouvernance et à la performance des pôles. Tout en nous inscrivant dans le courant des travaux de recherche qui mettent en exergue les spécificités du dispositif français des pôles de compétitivité composé d’acteurs complémentaires (Recherche, Formation et Entreprises), notre travail met l’accent sur le fait que l’innovation collaborative est mise en tension par des intentions stratégiques différenciées, liées précisément aux profils hétérogènes, et parfois divergents, des partenaires animés par un projet commun. Par une analyse empirique portant sur le pôle SCS que nous avons choisi en raison de son profil, de la nature de ses projets et de son historique collaboratif avec notre laboratoire de recherche (abondance de données préexistantes), nous tentons de comprendre la façon dont s’intègre l’orientation « marché » dans les projets d’innovation en réseau, et le rôle que la dimension marketing joue dans la dynamique d’innovation collaborative au sein des pôles de compétitivité. L’étude « qualimétrique » conduite a permis de mettre en évidence une relation de dépendance réciproque très forte entre les particularités des déterminants de l’innovation collaborative, notamment les profils d’acteurs et les intentions stratégiques, et les modalités d’intégration de l’orientation client/marché dans les dans les projets d’innovation collaboratifs (PIC). L’attribut « réseaux de connaissances » qui distingue les PdC octroie au marketing une place limitée dans les PIC. Aujourd’hui, une révision du modèle assimilable à un « réseau connaissances » s’impose, car les résultats montrent aussi une limite des marges de manœuvre des Pôles qui peut constituer une entrave à l’accès aux marchés des innovations issues des PIC. En effet, le processus d’innovation collaborative à l’échelle des PdC ne permet qu’au plus de parvenir à dresser des prototypes (β Product) et n’octroie pas de possibilité d’aller au-delà (test, production, mise sur le marché, etc.). Nos contributions théoriques et managériales permettent aujourd’hui d’ouvrir des grilles d’analyses nouvelles et d’améliorer le fonctionnement, la gouvernance et la performance des pôles à travers le succès des projets d’innovations collaboratifs. La thèse nous a aussi amené à développer des hypothèses nouvelles qui pourraient être échafaudées dans le cadre de recherches ultérieures, notamment au regard de la pertinence des réseaux de connaissances dans le processus complet d'innovation collaborative. / By promoting networked innovation, instruments of territorial dynamics have now turn out to be essential tools supporting firms' competitiveness and growth of nations. Clusters of competitiveness (CC) designed by French government in 2005 follows that state of mind. The first goal of collaborative innovation within CC is to create new opportunities and generate innovations ready to be diffused on new markets. However, if innovation networks have been widely studied through many questions (such as monitoring tools, governance and coordination, with finance, intellectual property or HR practices, training, trust between partners, externalities, or by the dynamics of SMEs), a deficiency persists in current researches about the strategic orientation of the composite innovation networks, more particularly with the customer or market orientation in the dynamics of projects / actors. Moreover, the first evaluation reports of the system had put a focus on pitfalls considering its capacity to generate innovations ready for market access and the stabilization of operation difficulties, as well as some governance and performance problems. While placing our analysis within current researches which highlight the specificities of the French clusters of competitiveness composed of complementary protagonists (Research, Academic and Enterprise), we intend to focus on the fact that collaborative innovation is tensioned by differentiated strategic intentions and profiles specifically related to heterogeneous, and sometimes conflicting, partners driven by a common project. By an empirical analysis carried out on the SCS French cluster chosen owing to its profile, the nature of its projects and the background history of collaboration with our laboratory (a wealth of existing data); we try to understand how the customer orientation fits into the clusters, and the role that marketing plays in the dynamic collaborative innovation within clusters of competitiveness. Our “qualimetric” study has allowed us to bring out a very strong mutual relationship of dependency between the particularity of collaborative innovation determinants, notably profiles of actors and strategic intentions, and how to integrate the customer / market orientation within the collaborative innovation projects. As "knowledge networks", CC grant to marketing and customer orientation a limited role in the collaborative innovation projects. Today, a revision of the model similar to a "knowledge network" is needed because our results seem also to reveal a limited room for maneuver of clusters of competitiveness, which can be for the collaborative innovation projects an obstacle for generating innovations ready for market access. Indeed, in its current state the process of collaborative innovation on a clusters of competitiveness scale enable only to obtain prototypes (β Product), and does not permit to go beyond (ie. test, production, market, etc.). Our theoretical and managerial contributions allow to open up new analytical tools as well as to improve the operation, the governance and the performance of cluster competitiveness through the success of collaborative innovation projects. The thesis has also led us to develop new hypotheses, which could be built up through further researches, in particular with regard to the relevance of knowledge networks in the whole process of collaborative innovation.

In today’s economical world, companies realize the importance to build corporate strategies on innovation to sustain a continuous profitability. Innovation is a crucial issue to develop a competitive advantage. In our networked economy, companies can not only rely on in-house activities anymore to raise creative and come up with breakthrough innovations they need to collaborate with actors from the external environment. Firms have to think outside their own boundaries to leverage the complementary resources and capabilities needed to innovate. Partnerships help to ensure firms’ future successes. The purpose of our study is to understand how companies, operating in the automotive industry, integrate ‘Open and Networked Innovation’ concepts in their corporate strategy to enhance their environmental friendly profile. As far as the EV market is concerned, our study will also lead to determine the Key Factors of Success and the barriers that companies have to face when they want to launch an electric car in the market. Various theoretical approaches have been developed over the time about Open Innovation and Networked Innovation. The dilemma of paradoxical organization needs of radical innovation, exposed by Dr Sigvald Harryson, is our theoretical starting-point to analyze company’s ability to find the right equilibrium between exploration and exploitation and absorptive capacity. Further on, we explore the question of absorptive capacity to know how firms identify, acquire, transfer and transform knowledge. Thereafter, the theoretical framework is confronted with empirical data based on a qualitative and abductive approach of two case studies – Tesla and Renault. Interviews with Tesla, located in the Silicon Valley, California, USA, have been conducted. We also met two key employees in Renault’s headquarter, Paris, France. Interpretation and explanation of the data collected is reported in our analysis of each case as well as in the cross-case analysis. A presentation of our recommendations and conclusions conclude our master thesis.

<p>In today’s economical world, companies realize the importance to build corporate strategies on innovation to sustain a continuous profitability. Innovation is a crucial issue to develop a competitive advantage. In our networked economy, companies can not only rely on in-house activities anymore to raise creative and come up with breakthrough innovations they need to collaborate with actors from the external environment. Firms have to think outside their own boundaries to leverage the complementary resources and capabilities needed to innovate. Partnerships help to ensure firms’ future successes.</p><p>The purpose of our study is to understand how companies, operating in the automotive industry, integrate ‘Open and Networked Innovation’ concepts in their corporate strategy to enhance their environmental friendly profile. As far as the EV market is concerned, our study will also lead to determine the Key Factors of Success and the barriers that companies have to face when they want to launch an electric car in the market.</p><p>Various theoretical approaches have been developed over the time about Open Innovation and Networked Innovation. The dilemma of paradoxical organization needs of radical innovation, exposed by Dr Sigvald Harryson, is our theoretical starting-point to analyze company’s ability to find the right equilibrium between exploration and exploitation and absorptive capacity. Further on, we explore the question of absorptive capacity to know how firms identify, acquire, transfer and transform knowledge.</p><p>Thereafter, the theoretical framework is confronted with empirical data based on a qualitative and abductive approach of two case studies – Tesla and Renault. Interviews with Tesla, located in the Silicon Valley, California, USA, have been conducted. We also met two key employees in Renault’s headquarter, Paris, France. Interpretation and explanation of the data collected is reported in our analysis of each case as well as in the cross-case analysis. A presentation of our recommendations and conclusions conclude our master thesis.</p>