Document 6517974

What is Open Innovation?
The Benefits of Open Innovation
Why should SMEs engage in O.I.?
“Open innovation is a paradigm that assumes that
Open Innovation (O.I.) allows many people from different
Most small companies are underfunded; therefore they
firms can and should use external ideas as well as
disciplines to tackle the same problem simultaneously and
NEED to be creative in their resource allocation. This often-
internal ideas, and internal and external paths to mar-
not sequentially. Anyone can participate with collaborative
times means outsourcing certain skill sets, such as rer
ket, as the firms look to advance their technology”
technology and OI training. When many minds are working
search (in areas not part of one's own core competencies).
by Henry Chesbrough
on the same problem, it will take less time to solve it.
What does open innovation mean to small companies?
Open innovation is the practice of looking beyond the four
What are the benefits of innovating together with
walls of your company - to suppliers, universities, produ-
others for small companies?
cers of complementary products and services, and other
SMEs can (and they should) open their own innovation
firms - to identify and capitalize on new opportunities for
processes...
innovation. It's the hottest trend in innovation today.
Open Innovation
is not about…
…but about
For small companies, open innovation can mean collaborative
bor
work with other small companies, developing
'industry partner' relationships to jointly develop new prodpro
ucts or services that may be small in volume but profitable.
to implement internal ideas otherwise unexplored
How can small companies prepare themselves for
to ensure access to external ideas
open innovation?
to enable better utilization of their partially hidden
innovation potential
Small
Sma companies can prepare themselves for open innovation by doing an internal audit of their expertise (core
competencies) and begin to create new relationships with
• open access to own
technologies
• strategic IPR management
• outsourced R&D
• strategic R&D
• technology only
• technical invention
to share the wealth and efficiency in resource allocation (e.g. per unit cost accounting basis)
• both technology and business
model
• commercial innovation
their agents (employees, other companies in their sector,
consumers, competitors, R&D Centers, Universities,
to extend their potential for growth via mergers
funding sources…). SMEs can also utilize their legal
and/or attraction of funding
resources to make sure they are aware of the implicaimplic
as larger companies could offer ample opportuni-
tions of any open innovation work,
ties for them to access otherwise far too expensive
joint development or those of
resources/knowledge etc.
strategic partnership.
• appropriating value
• win-win partnership
• new ventures
• core product development
process
"Creating linkages", as Open Innovation can be called,
• partnerships only
• innovation ecosystem building
from collaboration.
• cutting research costs
• improving R&D Return on
Investment
enables multiple organizations to learn, grow and gain
Why now is the time for O.I.?
Because challenges are more complex and sophisticated
and require the identification and combination of a higher
amount of different knowledge. Also, the accessibility of
information, contacts, etc. is easier than ever.
What is new in O.I.?
Traditionally the equation of "making innovation happen"
meant “invest more resources to acquire more research
results”. In case of timely implementation though, the
accessibility of such results is at least as important as
any possible objective valuation of its characteristics.
Competitive advantage can not only be won by increasing research depth but also by increasing accessibility:
making previously locked internal innovation processes
visible to third parties, and at the same time scouting for
OPEN INNOVATION NETWORKING
ideas emerging from the innovation system of other
PLATFORM FOR SMEs
organizations. One of the O.I. mottos is “The world is
our R&D department".
Project Partners
What are the starting points of O.I.?
The key issue is to understand that the whole world can
Agencia Navarra de Innovación
be your R&D Department. Enterprises must prepare the
(ANAIN), Navarra
organization for a culture change, the development and
www.navarrainnova.com
enforcement of social media strategies, the training of
their employees in innovation and how to deal with
external partners. Enterprises must switch from a ser-
Virtual Dimension Center VDC
vice model to an open service model. Therefore, this
Fellbach, Stuttgart Region
has legal implications concerning partnership agree-
www.vdc-fellbach.de
ment or IP. Collaboration and co-creation can mean a
OPEN INNOVATION
Benefits for SMEs
Workshop at ANAIN, Pamplona
May 25 2011
certain loss of control because all the decisions are
agreed on by all the agents. Nevertheless, O.I. can help
INNONET, Centre of Innovation and
SMEs to innovate in the areas in which they do not have
Technology, West Transdanubia
internal expertise.
www.innonet.hu