Department of Management Seminar: Professor Imanol Basterretxea, University of the Basque Country

This seminar aims to explore potential joint research avenues on innovation and strategic reorientation from mature industries to the health sector for the 2026–2027 period.
Although much of our previous research has focused on HRM, we have also developed a sustained line of inquiry on innovation (Basterretxea & Martínez, 2012), Open Innovation Basterretxea et al., 2019; Charterina et al., 2016, 2017, 2018), and more recently, eco-innovation (Basterretxea et al., 2024).
Together with professor Ana Fernřndez-Sainz and Dr. Josu Santos-Larrazabal, we now have access to microdata of a large sample of 36,795 Spanish firms (796 of them cooperatives) trough the EU Community Innovation Survey.
Our current work examines whether open innovation—through collaboration with universities, R&D units, consultancies, and other firms—is more prevalent among cooperatives than conventional firms, and whether it provides measurable innovation advantages. Additional research topics include eco-innovation, the role of human capital in innovation, and the impact of financial structures on innovation outcomes. The seminar will briefly outline this ongoing project and seek collaboration opportunities with scholars from St Andrews' GAME, PEACK, and OWLS research groups.
From 2026 to 2027, we also plan to launch a new qualitative research stream within a Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation project, “Path-Dependence, Resilience and Evolution of Old Industrial Regions: A Multi-level and Multi-agent Historical Explanation.” Within this framework, we will analyse the case of Mondragon Health.
Mondragon Health represents a strategic reorientation from traditional manufacturing sectors toward the health industry. The alliance employs over 2,000 people and includes several cooperatives that manufacture medical devices or provide healthcare solutions (e.g., Bexen Cardio, Bexen Medical, Bihar Homecare, ERREKA, Fagor Healthcare, Gerodan, GSR, Osarten, and LKS Next). Other Mondragon cooperatives from the automotive and machinery sectors are also increasingly entering healthcare markets. This transformation has required deep adjustments in corporate support structures—such as new biomedical engineering programs at Mondragon University and the establishment of dedicated health-focused R&D units. Strong inter-cooperation has often been key to success; for example, during the COVID-19 crisis, Bexen became Spain's main mask producer using machines from Mondragon Assembly and facilities from the auto-parts firm Cikautxo.
While this industrial reorientation has yielded signi