Summary of my thesis on Open Innovation (English)

1. Summary
Open the books on innovation
Thesis Master of Marketing Strategy
Academie voor Management,
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen,
Jan Willem van Eck,
Juni 2010
Research question:
Is Open Innovation really new and which factors are of importance for Open Innovation?
A method of innovation can in itself be innovate. This thesis researches whether Open Innovation is
actually new and which factors of are of importance for Open Innovation.
This thesis first defines Open Innovation and discusses generations of innovation management.
According to Chesbrough, Open Innovation (OI) is a new paradigm which can be observed in many
sectors. His definition of OI: “Open Innovation is the use of purposive inflows and outflows of knowledge
to accelerate internal innovation, and expand the market for external use of innovation, respectively”
(Chesbrough, 2006). Important (new) words in this definition are purposive and knowledge. There are
different core processes in Open Innovation: inbound, outbound, coupled. These processes of Open
Innovation serve to import and export knowledge, ideas and projects in/and/or out of the organization.
The presence, news value and motives of Open Innovation are presented as well as a classification for
factors, which play a role inside and outside an organization. Internal factors are related to processes,
employees and their competences. Outside the organizations, users/customers, communities, alliances,
networks, ecosystems and intermediaries can be of importance.
Qualitative research was used to determine what is happening, within the boundaries of my population
– large organizations, which apply geo-information technology in the Netherlands - , in relation to Open
Innovation. Based on my observations I conclude that Open Innovation is really new. Next I conclude
that the factors, which are of importance for Open Innovation, are mostly internal factors. There is
hardly attention for factors, which are external to the organization.
The named factors for Open Innovation fit in the defined classification. Open appears to play a factor in
the intention to innovate, but it does not yet play a role in realized innovations. Hence: the intention to
open the books on innovation is present, now the open book on innovation can follow.
Open the books on Innovation 1

2. Literature
- Adviesraad voor het Wetenschaps- en Technologiebeleid, 2004, Tijd om te oogsten!
Vernieuwing in het innovatiebeleid, Adviesraad voor het Wetenschaps- en Technologiebeleid.
- Aylen, J., 2010, Open versus closed innovation: development of the wide strip mill for steel in
the United States during the 1920s, R&D Management.
- Baarda, D.B., de Goede, M.P.M, Teunissen, J., 2009, Basisboek Kwalitatief Onderzoek, Noordhoff
Uitgevers.
- Bishop, M., 2009, The Total Economic Impact of InnoCentive Challenges, Forrester Consulting.
- BT 2006, Embracing Open Innovation, a BT Whitepaper.
- Chesbrough, H., 2003, The Era of Open Innovation, MIT Sloan Management Review.
- Chesbrough, H., 2003, Open Innovation, The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from
Technology, Harvard Business School Press.
- Chesbrough, H., Crowther, A., 2006, Beyond high tech: early adopters of open innovation in
other industries, R&D Management.
- Chesbrough, H., Van Haverbeke, W., West, J., 2006, Open Innovation, Researching a new
paradigm, Oxford Universtity Press.
- Cohen, W., Levinthal, D., 1989, Innovation and Learning, the two faces of R&D, The Economic
Journal.
- Conway, S., Steward, F., 2009, Managing and shaping innovation, Oxford University Press.
- Cooper, R., Kleinschmidt, E., 1986, An Investigation into the New Product Process: Steps,
Deficiencies, and Impact, Journal of Product Innovation Management.
- Diener, K., Piller, F., 2010, The Market for Open Innovation: Increasing the efficiency and
effectiveness of the innovation process, RWTH-TIM Group.
- Dittrich, K., Duysters, G., 2007, Networking as a Means to Strategy Change: The Case of Open
Innovation in Mobile Telephony, Journal of Product Innovation Management.
- de Jong, J.P.J., 2006, Meer Open Innovatie, Praktijk, ontwikkelingen, motieven en knelpunten in
het MKB, Adviesraad voor het Wetenschaps- en Technologie beleid.
- Dodgson, M., Gann, D., Salter, A., 2006, The role of technologies in the shift toward open
innovation: the case of Procter & Gamble, R&D Management.
- Enkel, E., Gassmann, O., Chesbrough, H., 2009, Open R&D and open innovation: exploring the
phenomenon, R&D Management.
Open the books on Innovation 2

3. - Jaspers, F., 2006, Open Innovatie: contingenties, systeemintegratie en beleid, Adviesraad voor
het Wetenschaps- en Technologiebeleid.
- Fetterhoff, T., Voelkel, D., 2006, Managing Open Innovation in Technology, Research Technology
Management.
- Fichter, K., 2009, Innovation communities: the role of networks of promotors in Open
Innovation, R&D Management.
- Fredberg, T., Elmquist, M., Ollila, S., 2008, Managing Open Innovation – Present Findings and
Future Directions, Vinnova Report 2008-02.
- Gassmann, O., Enkel, E., Chesbrough, E., 2010, The future of Open Innovation, R&D
Management.
- Holmes, S., Smart, P., 2009, Exploring open innovation practice in firm-nonprofit engagements: a
corporate social responsibility perspective, R&D Management.
- Huston, L., Sakkab, N., 2007, Implementing Open Innovation, Research Technology
Management.
- Keup, M., Gassmann, O., 2009, Determinants and archetype users of open innovation., R&D
Management.
- Kirschbaum, R., 2005, Open innovation in practice, Research Technology Management.
- Laursen, K., Salter, A., 2006, Open for innovation: the role of openness in explaining innovation
performance among U.K. manufacturing firms., Strategic Management Journal.
- Lee, S., Park, G., Yoon, B., Park, J., 2010, Open innovation in SMEs—An intermediated network
model, Research Policy.
- Lichtenthaler, U., Lichtenthaler, E., 2009, A Capability-Based Framework for Open Innovation:
Complementing Absorptive Capacity, Journal of Management Studies.
- Lichtenthaler, U., 2008, Integrated roadmaps for open innovation, Research Technology
Management.
- Linnarson, H., 2005, Patterns of alignment in alliance structure and innovation, Technology
Analysis & Strategic Management.
- Luo, X., Deng, L., 2009, Do Birds of a Feather Flock Higher? The Effects of Partner Similarity on
Innovation in Strategic Alliances in Knowledge-Intensive Industries, Journal of Management
Studies.
- Moore, J., 1993, Predators and Prey: A New Ecology of Competition, Harvard Business Review.
Open the books on Innovation 3

4. - Mortara, L., Napp, J., Slacik, I., Minshall, T., 2009, How to implement Open Innvovation,
University of Cambridge, Institute of Manufacturing.
- Mortara, L., Shawcross, J., Mills, J., Napp, J., Minshall, T., 2010, Skills for Open Innovation,
University of Cambridge, Institute of Manufacturing - nog niet gepubliceerd.
- OECD, 2008, Open Innovation in Global Networks, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development, www.oecd.org/publications/Policybriefs.
- Piller, F., Ihl, C., 2009, Open Innovation with Customers, RWTH Aachen University.
- Rampersad, G., Quester, P., Troshani, I., 2009, Managing innovation networks: Exploratory
evidence form ICT, biotechnology and nanotechnology netwerks, Industry Marketing
Management.
- Rogers, E., 1962, Diffusion of Innovations, Free Press.
- Rohrbeck, R., 2010, Harnassing a network of experts for competitive advantage: technology
scouting in the ICT industry, R&D Management.
- Rohrbeck, R., Hölzle, K., Gemünden, H., 2009, Opening up for competitive advantage – How
Deutsche Telekom creates an open innovation ecosystem, R&D Management.
- Spithoven, A., Clarysse, B., Knockaert, M., 2009, Building absorptive capacity to organise
inbound open innovation in traditional industries, Technovation.
- Trott, P., Hartman, D., 2009, Why ‘Open Innovation is old wine in new bottles’, International
Journal of Innovation Management.
- Van der Duin, P., Hartmann, D., Ortt, R., 2006, Innoveren in nieuwe tijden, Essays over Open
Innovatie, Adviesraad voor het Wetenschaps- en Technologiebeleid.
- Van der Meer, H., 2007, Open Innovation – The Dutch Treat: Challenges in Thinking in Business
Models, Creativity & Innovation Management.
- Van de Vrande, V., de Jong, J., Vanhaverbeke, W., de Rochemont, M., 2009, Open innovation in
SMEs: Trends, motives and management challenges, Technovation.
- Von Hippel, E., 2005, Democratizing Innovation, MIT Press.
- West, J., Lakhani, K., 2008, Getting Clear About Communities in Open Innovation, Industry &
Innovation.
Open the books on Innovation 4