The role of internal and external social media in the idea generation phases of new product development: evidence from the technology industry

Purpose Despite growing recognition of social media as a valuable tool for external knowledge acquisition in innovation, limited research has investigated how firms utilise different types of social media in the idea-generation phase of new product development (NPD). This study empirically examines the differential use and perception of internal versus external social media across the idea-generation stages of the NPD process. It contributes to the literature by clarifying how each type of platform functions as a knowledge source and advances the understanding of social media-enabled open innovation. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative multiple-case study across nine global technology firms. Data comprise 47 semi-structured interviews with innovation/R&D managers, complemented by secondary sources (annual reports, internal documents and corporate social media archives). Data were coded in NVivo 12 using a Gioia-informed approach. The analysis focused on platform usage patterns, knowledge flows, and integration into innovation processes. Findings The study finds that internal social media platforms are more likely to support radical innovation in our cases by enabling secure, expert-driven collaboration under tighter governance conditions, while external platforms typically facilitate incremental improvements through consumer feedback and broad engagement. However, some external-platform ideas can still be radical in certain contexts (e.g., when governance risks are low). The integration of both types enhances ideation quality and organisational learning. Structured use of external platforms – combined with analytics tools – can yield high-quality innovation insights. Research limitations/implications This study extends open innovation theory by showing how internal and external social media platforms differentially support knowledge acquisition – external sources driving incremental insights, internal platforms enabling radical, expert-driven collaboration. It further highlights governance logics such as confidentiality, IP protection, and data quality that shape platform choice. Methodologically, the study demonstrates the value of multi-source triangulation in qualitative OI research. Limitations include the focus on large technology firms and the idea-generation phase of NPD, which may constrain generalisability. Future research should examine the full innovation cycle using mixed-methods or quantitative approaches to validate and broaden these insights. Practical implications Managers should pair external sensing (cost-effective market intelligence, early signals) with internal, secured co-creation to develop higher-impact ideas, invest in data governance and disclosure protocols and integrate social media analytics iteratively from ideation to post-launch learning. Originality/value This research contributes to the open innovation literature by categorising internal and external social media based on their strategic value in idea generation. It challenges blanket assumptions about the inferiority of external social media data by illustrating how, in our cases, firms begin to extract value through more formalised, analytics-supported processes. The study shows that, when appropriately governed and combined with internal expertise, external social media can complement rather than simply lag behind internal sources in early-stage idea generation.