Managing Innovation, 6th Edition

CHAPTER 11 Exploiting Open Innovation and Collaboration

In Chapter 10, we examined the processes necessary to develop new products and services within the existing corporate environment, based on the strategy and capabilities identified in Chapter 4. In this chapter, we explore how firms use external relationships with suppliers, users, and partners to develop new technologies, products, and businesses in the context of open innovation. Specifically, we will discuss the role and management of a range of external actors in the creation and execution of new technologies, products, and businesses, specifically the following:

• Joint ventures and alliances
• Role of supplier innovation
• Forms and patterns of collaboration
• Influence of technology and organization
• Supplier collaboration
• User-led innovation
• Extreme users
• Benefits and limitations of open innovation

11.1 Joint Ventures and Alliances

Almost all innovations demand some form of collaborative arrangement, for development or commercialization, but the failure rate of such alliances remains high. In Chapter 7, we reviewed the central role of innovation networks, and here we examine the more specific issue of bilateral alliances or joint ventures. We discuss the role of collaboration in the development of new technologies, products, and businesses. Specifically, we address the following questions:

• Why do firms collaborate? ...