Despite strong evidence that entrepreneurially oriented firms are more likely to use open innovation practices, there is no attention for the opposite question of how open innovation practices can help firms become more entrepreneurially oriented. Using an inductive longitudinal case study of three financial services firms, we find that innovation contests positively impact entrepreneurial orientation through learning and implementing mechanisms such as interacting with start-ups in their ecosystem, more agile innovation processes and infusion of talent and skills. This triggers a cultural change to more proactivity and greater risk tolerance. Our emerging framework provides insights into the valuable role innovation contests play beyond accessing new ideas, and how managers can increase the entrepreneurial orientation of stagnant organizations through open innovation.