Picture courtesy Institute for Manufacturing.
The report, “How to Implement Open Innovation”, is the result of a two-year study of some of the world’s leading firms. The research team looked at more than 30 major companies from a variety of sectors, including energy, aerospace and defence, software and media, electronics and telecommunications.
Open innovation can improve a company’s ability to create and capture value by improving the rate and quality of innovation, says the report.
Letizia Mortara, of the IfM’s Centre for Technology Management, said, “While open innovation is a relatively new phenomenon, it has started to gain traction in businesses across a range of sectors. We wanted to try and find out if there was a framework or guide for other firms to implement open innovation and to understand what people involved in its adoption did on a day-to-day basis.”
Philips, for example, has created incubation processes to carry out research into ideas that do not immediately fit within existing businesses, but in time could lead to the introduction of new products.
“But Philips is not the only firm to embrace open innovation, and others have adopted interesting approaches. Our study provides an overview of a range of current practice and illustrates the challenges firms may face.”
Among the guidance contained within the report is how companies can build an open innovation culture, how to develop the necessary skills within the business and how to motivate employees. While each company will face different issues and will have different reasons for pursuing open innovation, the report offers a framework that can be tailored to individual needs.
Receive the Funding Newswire each Tuesday, our Policy Bulletin each Thursday, and news about bridging Europe’s east-west innovation gap twice a month in The Widening. 
A unique international forum for public research organisations and companies to connect their external engagement with strategic interests around their R&D system.