descriptor variables

The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic decision framework to support decision makers in choosing or constructing the most appropriate practices for OI adoption. This work brings OI into the realm of practices by moving the focus from outcome to the practices -, i.e. from OI as a new artifact to the act of innovating. So this paper, after a deep review of OI research literature, seeks to provide a sophisticated framework for decisions on the adoption of OI. The framework was implemented in three phases in a large Iranian company active in the food packaging and printing industry. In the first step, two categories of variables were chosen for measuring the status of OI practices, namely contextual factors and descriptor variables. In the second and third steps, using the multi-criteria decision-making techniques, the current and then the desirable status of OI practices are identified.The results of the research show that there is a deep contradiction between the current and the desired status of the practices adopted in the “retention stage” in the company under study. This gap is less in other the stages of innovation process, namely “exploration” and “exploitation” stages.