Trust as a nucleus key for open innovation

This research aims to provide guidance for the management of supply chains to improve the likelihood and extent of open innovation, and the management of trust with regard to coupling the potential role of the customer, competitors and suppliers to increase supply chain performance. It is the purpose of this study to introduce a model for applying open innovation privileged in supply chains. Through the understanding of the level of open innovation inside the Egyptian organizations - namely the automobile industry - it will investigate if there is a difference in the level of trust held between different trust types. A survey using an extant study is undertaken at multinational automobile assembly lines in Egypt. It involved one type of questionnaire completed by the middle managerial level. The presented model identifies a relationship between trust and open innovation in supply chains. Consequently, it could lead to the enhancement of customer satisfaction, an increase in internal customer performance and the development of innovative products. This explorative study also indicates that multinational automobile assembly lines working in Egypt are willing to apply the right amount of open innovation. The study is based on a relatively small sample of limited geographic scope (one country: Egypt), and of a short duration (one-year coverage). Future research should expand the geographic coverage to other parts of the world and prolong the duration.