WOIC Academic Awards
Celebrating outstanding scholarship in Open Innovation
Each year, the World Open Innovation Conference recognizes exceptional academic contributions through two paper awards: the Henry Chesbrough Best Student Paper Award and the Kaya Rangus Best Emerging Scholar Paper Award.
Henry Chesbrough
Best Student Paper Award
For outstanding student-led scholarship
Kaya Rangus
Best Emerging Scholar Paper Award
For outstanding emerging scholar contribution
Selection Process:
Papers submitted to the World Open Innovation Conference are reviewed through an anonymous and independent evaluation process. Award candidates are assessed based on reviewer scores, scholarly quality, originality, methodological rigor, and contribution to the field of Open Innovation.
Final award decisions are made by the WOIC Academic Awards Committee, which reviews the highest-ranked eligible papers and determines the winner, runner-up, and finalists for each award.
Henry Chesbrough Best Student Paper Award
Named after Professor Henry Chesbrough, widely recognized as the “father of Open Innovation,” the Henry Chesbrough Best Student Paper Award recognizes exceptional research by PhD and graduate students in the field of Open Innovation.
Presented annually at the World Open Innovation Conference, the award celebrates student-led scholarship that offers original, rigorous, and meaningful contributions to Open Innovation research.
Winner — Best Student Paper Award 2017
Presented to:
Krithika Randhawa
For the paper:
“Crowdsourcing without Profit: How Seeker Intent and Strategies Enable Open Social Innovation”
(co-authors: Ralf Wilden & Joel West)
Runner-up:
Best Student Paper Award 2017
Els De Maeijer
For the paper:
“The Give and Take of Industry-Academia Partnerships: A Liminal Approach to Open Innovation”
(co-authors: Tom Van Hout & Mathieu Weggeman)
Runner-up:
Best Student Paper Award 2017
Göran Smith
For the paper:
“Outbound Open Innovation in the Public Sector: The Roles of Intermediaries”
(co-author: Asif Akram)
Kaya Rangus Best Emerging Scholar Paper Award
The Kaja Rangus Best Emerging Scholar Paper Award honors the memory and scholarly contribution of Dr. Kaja Rangus, Assistant Professor in the Academic Unit for Entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana.
Dr. Rangus worked on Open Innovation, entrepreneurship, and design thinking. In 2016, she was runner-up for the WOIC Best Emerging Scholar Award for her paper, “The Role of Open Innovation Mindset in Entrepreneur’s Alertness and Firm’s Financial Performance.”
Following her passing in early 2018, the WOIC Organizing Committee named the Best Emerging Scholar Award in her memory. The award recognizes promising emerging scholars whose work contributes to the advancement of Open Innovation scholarship and reflects the collaborative spirit of the WOIC community.
Winner — Best Emerging Scholar Paper Award 2017
Presented to:
Liang Mei
For the paper:
“Navigating Open Innovation under Institutional Influence: Lessons from China High-Speed Rail Industry”
Runner-up:
Best Scholar Paper Award 2017
Maral Mahdad
For the paper:
“Harnessing Adaptive Capacity to Close Pandora’s Box of Open Innovation”
(co-authors: Chiara Eleonora De Marco, Andrea Piccaluga, & Alberto Di Minin)
