Innovation is a key driver of productivity and long-term growth and can help solve social challenges at the lowest possible cost. Innovation in small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs) is at the core of inclusive growth strategies in any nation: more innovative SMEs are more productive SMEs that can grow faster and remunerate better, thus helping reduce inequalities.

SMEs are crucial catalysts of both developed and developing economies, accounting for over 99% of all businesses and more than 60% of all jobs created. However, SMEs are, on average, less innovative than large companies. For example, across OECD countries, the median value in the national SME share of business R&D is 35%. Research suggests that successful innovation raises the chances of SMEs’ survival by 22%.

Discovering innovation from external stakeholders is crucial for informing successful innovation efforts for any organisation. Open Innovation (OI) has been identified as an important strategy to overcome typical SME weaknesses such as resource availability (time, money, etc.) and constraints and skill gaps when dealing with innovation pursuits. The term open innovation means

"...a situation where an organisation doesn’t just rely on their own internal knowledge, sources and resources (such as their own staff or R&D for example) for innovation (of products, services, business models, processes etc.) but also uses multiple external sources (such as customer feedback, published patents, competitors, external agencies, the public etc.) to drive innovation..."

There are considered to be two types of open innovation, namely

• Inbound open innovation, and
  
• Outbound open innovation.

Inbound open innovation is about sourcing and acquiring expertise from outside the organisation, and scanning the external environment for new information to identify, select, utilise and internalise ideas. Outbound open innovation is the purposive commercialisation and capture of internally developed ideas in the organisation’s external environment. This might be through selective licensing out of technology or service to other organisations for income generation or with a view to receiving feedback. Building open innovation networks allows organisations to take ideas or projects generated internally that don't fit their core business model, and develop them externally. This has the potential to create new revenue streams without compromising their core business or brand sometimes.

By developing an open innovation ecosystem, SMEs can manage the process of leveraging all potential resources and actively engage in innovation scouting, co-creation, and more. In order to optimally benefit from open innovation, however, companies need to develop new skill sets (e.g., technology scouting, and management capabilities) and create the right culture and atmosphere.

 
This self-paced online course provides an overview of the open innovation concepts (definition, scope, typology), models, open innovation culture, management techniques, tools and frameworks and prepares learners to develop and engage with open innovation processes. The course puts a particular emphasis on SMEs and discusses and considers their many advantages and challenges they face when engaging with open innovation and outlines some general strategies for success.

Through the use of quizzes and case studies it allows learners to quickly embed knowledge and to be ready to apply it with confidence in their work environment.

Course Features

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