Innovation is not the responsibility of one individual.

The concept of open innovation

It often happens... that products and services come to market too late, are not technically successful or do not meet the requirements of stakeholders. The problem behind this is the lack of cooperation partners, a lack of knowledge and knowledge, a lack of creativity and a lack of resources for implementation. This is particularly the case with SMEs. Open innovation is the solution. And open innovation is not the responsibility of one individual.

The Open Innovation concept was first launched by Henry Chesbrough. He defines open innovation as the use of targeted inflows and outflows of knowledge to accelerate internal innovations and expand markets for the external use of innovations. It is clear from this definition that there are two sides to open innovation. One is the “outside in” aspect, in which external ideas and technologies are incorporated into one's own innovation process. This is the most commonly used method of open innovation. The other, less common method is the “inside out” part, in which unused or only insufficiently used ideas and technologies come out of the company in order to involve others in the innovation process. Both methods are often combined. Open innovation is an advantage for companies because it can reduce costs, speed up time to market, increase differentiation in the market and also reduce development risk.

Consumer wishes are taken into account: A win-win situation.

At the same time, open innovation meets consumer demands, as consumer behavior has changed significantly as a result of the social web. Consumers now want and can have their say and share their opinion. This turns innovation from a thing for an individual to a thing that affects everyone. Through open innovation, you can involve your customers in the innovation process. As a result, development is not only close to the customer, but also close to the market. This gives you more ideas from different perspectives. Because in today's knowledge society, knowledge is the most valuable asset, and this is widely distributed.

So why should a company work with its customers, competitors or others from the outside world? Simply to use the knowledge and remain competitive, which is particularly relevant for SMEs. This is because customers and competitors, or even other players, may have certain knowledge, knowledge or resources that your company itself does not have. The company's own innovative potential is expanded and increased by involving the outside world. You must not be deterred from sharing intellectual property. Instead of protecting it from others, Open Innovation uses it together to work together successfully and thus ensure a win-win situation.

How do you create an innovation-friendly mindset in SMEs?

Especially when the number of employees is still manageable, the chances of promoting proactive cooperation are particularly high, starting with corporate management. Because motivated employees are the ultimate success factor. AnyIdea provides a platform to increase your company's ability to innovate. And it's as easy and fast as possible. Because this is where open innovation takes place. And innovations make businesses more productive and efficient. At the same time, innovation ensures growth and new market entry. With AnyIdea, you can invite not only employees, but also partners, customers, experts, interested parties and many others to innovate with you. Because innovation is not the responsibility of one individual, it affects everyone.