Open innovation: where do french companies stand ?

• Thierry WEIL
  Professor, Mines ParisTech
  Member, FutuRIS work group on management practices concerning innovation
  
• François de CHARENTENAY
  Former research director, PSA
  Member, FutuRIS project
  
• Germain SANZ
  Former director of innovation, Arcelor
  Member, FutuRIS project
  

Summary

Open innovation has been adopted by a large number of companies including the very large organisations. With open innovation, there is an opportunity for them to cut costs, to discover and better control technologies and markets, as well as the ability to offer comprehensive solutions and make money from their skills. However, open innovation can only work if the company adopts this approach over the long-term, if it aligns its process of internal management of innovation with this point of view, and if it makes its plans and objectives with its partners clearer. It should also maintain its own internal research and development (R&D) department if it wants to master the technical culture which is essential in order to understand the solutions of other organisations, and to integrate them into its product. However, this may lead to a dilemma : should the company bring limited changes to its own system of innovation, or would it be better to change the models radically in order to benefit fully from open innovation ?

Summary translated from French by Rachel MARLIN.

• The entire article was written by Élisabeth BOURGUINAT and translated by Rachel MARLIN.

To obtain this article, you can :

• download it in French (PDF help) using your password or contact ecopar@paris.ensmp.fr (Reference RT050209).
• download it in English (PDF help) using your password or contact ecopar@paris.ensmp.fr (Reference RT050209-ENG).

The entire article appears in French in the Journal de l'École de Paris du management N° 81.