Select methods

What methods will be used for implementation?

The decision regarding which open innovation methods are best largely depends on the objective you have set. You need to consider what output a chosen method is even capable of providing.

Whatever you need will determine the knowledge that comes

  • to you in the organisation (outside-in open innovation), or,
  • as additional knowledge or technology from outside (inside-out open innovation).

Choose the method that is right for you according to where you are in your innovation process:

Ideas generation and evaluation phase:

Product design, prototype development and testing phase:

New technology and market development through licences

Which partners will support the project?

The integration of external knowledge can expand mental horizons in the development of new solutions. The interdisciplinary development of ideas is paramount here.

By involving customers, user experiences and requirements are gathered directly from the market. The orientation and development of a solution can therefore occur in close proximity to the market, thus increasing the chances of success. Unlike the continuous opening of business borders, brainstorming is often done within a specified period of time, e.g. in a format similar to a competition.

To successfully arrive at the specified objective, strategic considerations must be given to who the project partners will be.

  • What skills does the organisation still lack to enable it to successfully complete the project?
  • When choosing partners, it is relevant to consider how much value they may add, and what roles they should have.
  • The higher the level of expertise required to achieve the objective, the smaller the group of participants is likely to be. On the other hand, crowd methods open doors to a multitude of new ideas and solutions.

Successful open innovation projects usually feature professional process support and external consultancy.

Further reading and sources

Vanhaverbeke, W. (2017): “Managing Open Innovation in SME”, Cambridge University Press, 2017

de Beer, J., McCarthy, I., Soliman, A., Treen, E. (2017): “Click here to agree: Managing intellectual property when crowdsourcing solutions”, Business Horizons, Volume 60, Issue 2, March–April 2017, Pages 207-217

Seja, c., Narten, J. (2017): “Creative Communities, Ein Erfolgsinstrument für Innovationen und Kundenbindung, Springer Gabler, Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH 2017

Gassmann, Oliver (2013): “Crowdsourcing. Innovationsmanagement mit Schwarmintelligenz. Interaktiv Ideen finden, kollektives Wissen effektiv nutzen. Mit Fallbeispielen und Checklisten.”, Carl Hanser Verlag München.

Donner, M. (2013) “Orientierungsrahmen für die Integration von Open Innovation im Innovationsprozess”, FH Südwestfalen, Bachelor’s dissertation 2013

“Intellectual Property Agreement Guide IPAG”, UNIKO and ncp.ip

Füller, J., (27 June 2012): “Die Gefahren des Crowdsourcing”