The purpose of this study is to assess if within the open innovation field, cultural differences might influence co-creation practices.The last couple of decades, Open Innovation (OI) has become an important topic for firms who wish to effectively access flows of knowledge. However, even though OI is of high importance, we found out that it has not received enough attention in the academic literature, especially within Scandinavia. For that reason, this thesis will be primarily focused on Open Innovation in Scandinavia and we hope it will contribute to more research into this increasingly crucial area.Furthermore, this paper will focus on the topic of co-creation practices within the OI spectrum. We define co-creation as “the collaborative development of new value (concepts, solutions, products, and services) together with experts and/or stakeholders (such as customers, suppliers, partners, etc)" (Fronteer, 2022). Again, even though this topic is becoming more important and represents a greater opportunity for companies to create value for their customers and users, it is not researched enough.Finally, we noticed that very few academic papers include cultural and geographic elements to the research on co-creation in an international context. Therefore, this thesis aims to investigate what seems to be a research gap, and will study the potential influence of cultural proximity in co-creation practices between international companies/subsidies. 

With this research we hope to add valuable insights to an under-researched topic such as co-creation. We will provide a new perspective by looking at the topic through a cultural lens, which has been done by very few authors so far.If our research proves that there is a cultural influence when co-creation is conducted between firms/subsidiaries located in different countries, we will be able to understand the extent of this influence and what are the differences shown in each different country.This research will be useful to Scandinavian companies that are looking into co-creation. Indeed, they will be able to know whether the country they conduct these activities in plays a role in their success and what are their best options to venture into. With our collaboration, we aim to understand better your processes in co-creation in order to find sources of improvement. Any company being involved in open innovation practices can greatly benefit from our work. 

Both studying International Business, we like to be aware of the new concepts and challenges arising in our study field. Since Chesbrough's work in 2003, Open Innovation is a topic that has been receiving increasing attention. We think that it is a very interesting and exciting topic full of opportunities, and that it deserves to be studied more in depth.Moreover, throughout our Bachelor we encountered several courses touching upon this topic (eg: Global Strategy, Technoly and Innovation or Founder's Dilemmas: Anticipate and Avoid Startup Pitfalls). Those greatly participated in motivating our Thesis choice as well as some of our Master choices (Fantine's 1st priority being Management of Innovation and Business Development).With this thesis, we really want to learn more about this topic and we hope to contribute in terms of research and findings.

Our greatest strength as a Thesis Team is our ability to work together. Since the beginning of our Bachelor, we have always been involved in group works of all kinds. Moreover, we have been working in the same company for more than a year and a half where our high results proved that our collaboration goes well.Finally, we have our own individual strengths which nicely complete each other's profile. Together, we can count on solid analytical, writing, and communication skills which help us succeed in our academic and professional life.We are both serious, committed, involved, but most of all curious and eager to learn more about Innovation and Co-Creation practices.