Implementing and measuring open innovation

In this video, we will be discussing the importance of processes as a key factor.

We will be exploring what the key processes are that an organisation would need to implement to enable the acquisition and integration of ideas developed externally.

As you go through this video, consider how the three outlined processes can be fully developed into organisational routines that everyone can follow.

Think about how these processes can support the development of absorptive capacity. In addition, try to consider how these processes can lead to wider organisational learning.

Given the uniqueness of the processes involved in open innovation, the measurement may be a difficult thing to achieve. Yet we have come across several activities throughout this course that may have some measurable output. For instance, you could measure the number of ideas that originate from outside an organisation’s boundaries, eg customers, lead users and suppliers. Similarly, you could measure the number of partnerships the organisation has developed along with their impact on product and process development. Finally, you could try to measure attitudes towards open innovation, for example by exploring the degree to which a team would like to work with its partners to learn new things and subsequently develop its absorptive capacity.

Although there is no one way of doing it, a combination, which takes into account some of the organisational contexts, could be the best way forward.

Think about how such approaches could be used to convince managers and shareholders about the practical impact of open innovation on performance.

Tsinopoulos, C., Sousa, C. & Yan, J. (2017). Process Innovation: Open innovation and the moderating role of the motivation to achieve legitimacy. Journal of Product Innovation Management.