The wisdom of many
Independent acquisition of knowledge is one
thing but how can the experiences and ideas
of many people be merged into new concepts
and solutions? More and more often
expressions like “Open innovation” and
“Crowd sourcing” do the rounds. Now
many companies are trying to broaden
their technological tunnel vision using these
concepts. Prof. Frank Piller, Chair of Business
Management focussing on Technology and
Innovation Management at the Technical
University in Aachen, talks in an interview
with trends in automation about the
innovative concepts and the importance
of so-called lead users.
trends in automation:
What is open innovation?
Prof. Frank Piller:
The latest studies show that in most industries
functionally new developments emanate from customers. But these are often
improvements to existing technologies, not far-reaching innovations. Truly
new developments emanate from so-called lead users. Open innovation tries
to sniff out these people and include them in a company’s innovation process.
That sounds easy.
Piller:
It does but it’s not really, because lead users are not direct customers
of a manufacturing company but often people who only have indirect contact
with these companies or sometimes none at all. It is possibly someone who
is not connected at all with the industry or the discipline in question, but who
is in a position to solve a problem in a completely innovative way that the
technology experts simply hadn’t thought of because of their limited range
of experience.
How do you find lead users?
Piller:
A tried and tested way is to advertise ideas competitions, either
traditionally via printed media or, more and more often, on online platforms.
Can you apply open innovation ideas from lead users as they are?
Piller:
No, companies that want to incorporate the creativity of lead users
into new concepts must co-ordinate them with the experience of existing
customers. It is the only way that marketable products and solutions can be
created.
That all sounds very positive. Is there a catch to this?
Piller:
I wouldn’t call it a catch, but it needs new processes through which the
results of open innovation can successfully be transferred to the company’s
own structures. Only if these are implemented correctly can open innovation
develop its full potential over time.
Open innovation
Prof. Frank Piller,
Technical
University, Aachen/Germany
Jogging is not only good
for the circulation
but also for the brain according to brain
research findings (see page 10).