The Impact of Open Innovation on Firm Performance in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution: The Mediating Role of Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Capabilities

Abstract

This study aims to ascertain whether implementing open innovation as a crucial source of competitive advantage positively influences performance. Additionally, it seeks to verify whether companies’ utilization of big data analytics and artificial intelligence technologies positively moderates the relationship between open innovation and performance. This study used a structured questionnaire to collect data from a random final valid sample of 294 Jordanian companies operating in diverse industries. A simple and hierarchical regression was applied to verify the proposed hypotheses utilizing the SPSS V. 28 statistical program. The analysis suggests that open innovation execution positively impacts performance among sampled companies. Among the various technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, big data analysis does not have a positive moderating effect on the relationship between the two variables. In contrast, the utilization of artificial intelligence technology has a positive moderating effect on this relationship. In other words, companies investing effort and resources into open innovation may not see performance improvements when simultaneously implementing big data analytics. Conversely, the simultaneous implementation of artificial intelligence technology alongside open innovation may lead to higher performance outcomes. These findings offer insights into the importance of strategic decisions regarding technology adoption for enhancing performance in the context of open innovation.