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Contact Details

Phone: +44 (0)1223 766141
Fax: +44 (0)1223 766400

Want to be added to our e-mailing list for news and updates? Email Tim Minshall

Centre for Technology Management,
Institute for Manufacturing,
University of Cambridge,
17 Charles Babbage Road
Cambridge CB3 0FS, UK

Open innovation

Background

Innovation is an increasingly distributed process, involving networks of geographically dispersed players with a variety of possible – and dynamic – value chain configurations. ‘Open innovation’ is one term that has emerged to describe the use of: “[..] inflows and outflows of knowledge to accelerate internal innovation, and expand the markets for external use of innovation [..].” (Chesbrough et al., 2006). This is contrasted with the ‘closed’ model of innovation where firms typically generate their own ideas which they then develop, produce, market, distribute and support.

Implementing an open innovation strategy presents many challenges for management. Our research in this area is focused on helping companies understand and overcome these challenges.

Research projects

  • The role of collaborations within ‘open innovation’: Our core project on open innovation is funded by Unilever R&D and is focused upon developing an understanding of the skills required to implement open innovation. Please contact Tim Minshall for more information.

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  • Value creation, capture and measurement in corporate venturing : An investigation of the ways in which value is generated and measured in external corporate venturing. Please contact Johann Napp for more information.
  • Managing partnerships between large firms and start-ups: A recently completed project that sought to improve understanding of the ways in which start-ups and large firms can work together. Click here to access the outputs of this project.
  • Technology Acquisition and Protection This project started in July 2009 and extends previous work in open innovation and the make-or-buy decision. It aims to better understand issues associated with technology and IP acquisition, including the protection considerations that need to be made pre-acquisition. Click here to read a press release on the subject.
    For more information please contact Simon Ford http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/people/sjf39/

Resources and links

…go to our page of open innovation resources and links…

 


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