Open Innovation is one of the key topics in Innovation Management and today is widely used across companies with very positive results. This concept “of opening innovation to external partners” was initially used by companies such as IBM or Lilly in their R&D and Innovation projects. Other companies soon followed suit. For instance, Procter & Gamble with their program Connect and Develop with their program Connect and Develop, have integrated this concept into their corporate strategy. Nowadays, it is a commonly used concept in Innovation.
The term ‘Open Innovation’ was first coined by Professor Henry Chesbrough who, from 1997 to 2003, held the post of Assistant Professor at Harvard Business School, with a joint appointment in the area of Technology and Operations Management and in Entrepreneurial Management. Additionally, Professor Chesbrough has worked in various Fortune 500 companies in fields related to mass storage, application software, network and communications, and information services. He is also an expert in after-sales services, support to the copy industry and the impact of the Internet on the insurance industry.
Professor Chesbrough (BerkleyHaas University) actively participates in workshops and projects working on Open Innovation with universities and companies. As well as regularly teaching at ESADE, Henry Chesbrough also leads an Open Innovation Forum which keeps the topic constantly updated.
Connociam had the opportunity to participate in the 2013 EIF conference held at ESADE with professors Henry Chesbrough and Alexander Osterwalder. This conference provided the platform to share experiences of using Open Innovation in business model change and the new tools of the Business Model Canvas. It really was an excellent occasion to share authentic open Innovation cases from top companies and receive invaluable coaching from professor Henry Chesbrough.
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