The leading podcast on Open Innovation and Ecosystems

Embedded in proprietary systems, or as standalone applications unto themselves, open source technologies, including the ubiquitous Linux operating system, are free to use, and consequently, challenging to value in economic terms. As recommended by Nobelist Elinor...

Open Source, The Ubiquitous Software Innovation Building Block In less than two decades, open source software has come to dominate the technology landscape across a wide swathe of key software categories, including operating systems, machine learning, databases,...

Open innovation (OI) is a method that can help address the challenges in R&D that organizations face. This chapter offers insight into the evolution of strategically applied OI principles at Nestlé Purina R&D. Leaders in innovation roles have a duty to...

Open innovation practices are an important dimension of the innovation ecosystem, but they take place in an evolving geopolitical context. For decades, the rapid advances in technology have been underpinned openness not only in basic science, but also in elements...

Despite the fact that business model innovation (BMI) is an important driver of business success, most studies on BMI have emphasized conceptual definitions, content analysis, and literature reviews. Theoretical underpinnings are often cited as necessary to advance...

This chapter outlines the distinction between two forms of open strategy: open innovation and open strategizing. The former is concerned mostly with “content” aspects of strategy, the latter with the processes of strategy “formation.” However, the chapter also...

This chapter provides a detailed analysis of outside-in open innovation during new product development. Departing from past internally-focused and siloed innovation practices, Gammasonics, a medical equipment division within Siemens, developed a customer-centric...

This chapter explores the different cognitive demands imposed on innovation leaders by both inbound and outbound open innovation. Open Innovation (OI) offers leaders a context characterized by a broad range of possible sources of knowledge and ideas. OI leaders...

Open innovation within digital infrastructures is fueled by digital technology commons (DTCs), open source software, open hardware, and other open digital technologies that can be accessed with highly permissive licensing conditions. This chapter describes four...

This chapter reviews open innovation theories from the perspectives of collaboration dynamics, socio-technical affordances, and governance approaches. The theories suggest that successful open innovation results from the online crowd’s stigmergic self-organization,...

The open innovation movement has evolved greatly since its inception. Originally it was the study of the outsourcing by large corporations of research and development activities, but now the movement considers the implications of principles of openness for such...

If the world is to avoid the worst consequences of climate change, the global economy must achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. In response, the number of corporate carbon reduction pledges has been skyrocketing. However, firms face an abundance of challenges...

Open innovation (OI) has acknowledged the importance of managing knowledge flows outside firm boundaries to enhance innovation. However, OI researchers have not explored the complexity of managing these knowledge flows across domains in practice. This chapter...

Open innovation requires the correct diagnosis of the situation, a differentiated value proposal, and a coherent, consistent action plan. In at least the first phases of this related funnel, open innovation can profit tremendously from artificial intelligence (AI)...

Open innovation within digital infrastructures is fueled by digital technology commons (DTCs), open source software, open hardware, and other open digital technologies that can be accessed with highly permissive licensing conditions. This chapter describes four...

Open innovation (OI) is a paradigm that illustrates a business strategy. In this chapter, however, the question is asked, how is the OI paradigm capable of influencing innovation policy? After briefly illustrating how the OI paradigm has found its way into the...

Big Science Research Infrastructures (RIs) have a strong track record of producing “deep-tech,” which has transformed industries and society. Yet, cultivating novel applications from these RIs is not straightforward due to often misaligned priorities with industry...

Openness and collaboration can foster breakthroughs in science and science-based innovation. As such, they can help address declining scientific productivity and tackle grand challenges of the present day. While the Open Science movement has helped make scientific...

Universities are destined to engage in open innovation because they generally do not commercialize products themselves. Yet, they have strategic discretion over how to perform innovation and shape outcomes. This chapter considers two dimensions of strategic choice...

The geographical dimension of open innovation consists of (geographical) proximity, economic growth, and inter-organizational networks. On one hand, clusters are characterized by spatial affordances and non-random co-location of economic activity—especially...

In a world where societies increasingly compete on innovation, cities are no strangers and aim to go beyond the provision of public services and the regulation of public goods. Open innovation has also taken cities by storm. However, Open innovation in cities has...

Open platforms provide an important avenue for firms to engage with external developers using open innovation strategies to create and commercialize their new innovations. Firms have successfully enabled external innovation by “inverting the firm” through...

Frank emphasized how these intermediaries serve as vital connectors, linking organizations (seekers) looking for external input or solutions with potential solution providers (solvers). Highlighted how intermediaries use various search strategies and offer...

Lars introduced a conceptual model that outlines four main stages where crowds can be strategically involved: problem formulation, solution generation, solution selection, and solution funding. This model provides a comprehensive framework for understanding how and...

Krithika shed light on how organizations (seekers) rely on large groups of external individuals (solvers) to generate innovative ideas and solutions, yet the role of these individuals has often been underexplored in open innovation research. Highlighted the...

Joel highlighted that while sectoral systems of innovation have been studied extensively to understand the interdependence of innovation activities and capabilities within industries, the role of open innovation in these systems has often been overlooked. Joel...

In this chapter, Paul highlighted how ecosystems—whether business, entrepreneurial, regional, innovation, knowledge, or platform ecosystems—have become a central focus for both managers and researchers alike; the intersection of open innovation and ecosystem...

Vareska explained how, with the rising number and quality of startups, established companies are exploring various ways to collaborate with these new ventures. From nurturing internal development through incubators to investing in startups via venture capital funds...

In this chapter, Andre discussed how Porsche, alongside companies like Bosch, is tackling the challenge of quickly and cost-effectively testing new business models by implementing robust, digital innovation management processes within an Open Innovation ecosystem...

A conversation with Marcel Bogers about ecosystems and open innovation

Sea Matilda Bez and Frédéric Le Roy explored the fascinating and somewhat counterintuitive idea of collaborating with competitors as part of open innovation strategies. While traditional open innovation research has often focused on partnerships with universities,...

In this chapter, Hans provided an in-depth review of the empirical literature on R&D alliances, highlighting how this area of research has developed over time and its critical role as one of the key practices in open innovation. The chapter offers a structured...

In this chapter, Kirsimarja pointed out that while trust has been a recurring theme since the early days of open innovation research, it has rarely been the focal point of study, despite being essential to the human aspects of innovation processes. This chapter...

In this chapter, Ioana Stafan explored the complex ethical landscape that surrounds open innovation. Ioana discussed how open innovation has been a powerful force for accelerating innovation, especially in times of crisis and in pursuing sustainable goals. However,...

In this chapter, Marcus explained how firms must carefully design their openness by making a series of interconnected decisions related to technological architecture and intellectual property (IP). Our conversation highlighted how these decisions impact both value...

Reflecting on our conversation with Henry Chesbrough about Chapter 10, we revisited the origins of open innovation, which was first explored within large companies as an alternative to traditional internal R&D. Henry discussed how large companies initially used...

In our conversation with Marc Gruber about Chapter 9, we explored the intersection of open innovation and entrepreneurship—a connection that has often been overlooked. Marc deepened into how open innovation, typically discussed in the context of innovation...

We had an insightful discussion with Wim on how open innovation is not just for large corporations but is also vital for the survival and growth of SMEs. We talked about the unique ways SMEs need to organize and manage open innovation, which differs significantly...