Rich McDonnell asks...
Which innovation strategy (OI/UD) is best suited for a global B2B industrial company?
I would be interested in your thoughts as to which innovation strategy (Open Innovation or User Driven) you think is best suited for B2B industrial products companies to initiate. Why?
Is there room for both strategies / methodologies to coexist within the same organization? Why? Why not?
Lastly. how does this choice change (or does it) if it were a B2C products company?
Thanking you in advance for your feedback.
Regards,
Rich
MBA Candidate University of London – RHUL
rm119@student.london.ac.uk
Hi Rich,
Your questions are very broad
On innovation strategy, this is not a one or the other question. You need an overall strategy that fits the specific situation of the company. In b2b industrial products companies, this often starts with R&D driven innovation and one of the key challenges in such companies is to expand the innovation efforts beyond traditional R&D. This could include different types of innovation (check http://www.doblin.com) and a range of strategies including open and user-driven innovation.
This also applies for b2c companies to a large extent . However, open innovation and related innovation strategies often seem more approachable for such companies giving them better innovation opportunities. One reason for this is that b2c companies are often characterized by shorter product development cycles, less need for IP protection and less need for capital compared to R&D heavy industries.
I hope this helps.
Stefan