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 2025
Presented to:
Marcel Niklas Rückwald
For the paper:
𝘝𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴: 𝘕𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜.𝘚. 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘜
Runner-up:
Best Student Paper Award 2025
Yixuan Shi
For the paper:
From Integral to Layered Modular Systems: How International Incumbent Automakers Design for Complements in the Chinese Market
Finalist:
Best Student Paper Award 2025
Ana Orelj
For the paper:
Essential or Extra? When Firm-Hosted Communities Become a Business Necessity
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 2025
Presented to:
Roberto Urbani, Francesco Cappa, Matteo Pinelli, and Francesco Rullani
There is no way back from Openness! The case of Dungeons & Dragons
Runner-up:
Best Scholar Paper Award 2025
Dieudonnée Cobben, Nadine Roijakkers, Petra C. De Weerd-Nederhof and Samaneh Bagheri
For the paper:
Ecosystem Performance Measurement: Insights from a Systematic Literature Review
