Abstract

Networking is inter alia the most important strategies for the development of technology and innovation for the improvement of the organizations’ ability to compete in a highly competitive environment of the today’s world. The business entities equipped with their efficient human resources and their internal capacities are capable of seeking for new ideas, identification of the new technological priorities and customers’ needs via foresight and in doing so, the organizations are in need of innovation and enhancement of innovation. The present article is a qualitative research that has been conducted based on a review of the documents, information banks and the papers on futuristic attitudes, competitive advantage and networking and it points to the important role of networking in small and medium-sized enterprises. Based on the information gathered, the open innovation process plays a considerable role in the networking of small and medium-sized enterprises. It is via the open innovation process that the companies are assisted by the other companies and organizations residing in the network in the course of ideation to product delivery to the market and it is in the course of idea acquisition, technical knowledge attainment, technology and service development, production method expansion and new distribution venues’ creation to the access to the new markets in the network that the companies can bring about an increase in income and decrease in their costs. Also, in open innovation process, the companies are continuously selling ideas, technical knowledge, technology and services to themselves and the other companies in the network and this causes an elevation of their earnings and reduction of their costs and finally paves their way to the achievement of competitive advantages.