Open Innovation, to discussion at the University of Navarra
Laszlo Bax, director general manager of Bax&Willems Consulting Venturing, advocated that novel ideas can be found outside the business
Laszlo Bax, director general manager of Bax&Willems Consulting Venturing, gave a talk on Open Innovation organized by the Scientific and Technological high school of the University of Navarra (ICT) and the Foundation business University (FEUN), aimed at businessmen, researchers and entrepreneurs.
According to the specialist, "today the costs of investment in research and development+i are increasing. At the same time, there are many barriers to commercial exploitation and development times are long. Moreover, within a globalized, competitive market and with short product life cycles". In this scenario, explained the Dutch consultant , the new model of research and development+i Open Innovation combines innovation in the product and in the business model throughout the entire chain of its development.
In Bax's view, the change lies in paying attention not only to internal research and development+i, but to outside talent, technologies, ideas and resources. "We must be open to any good idea, wherever it comes from. So that in the research phase we contact start-ups - which serve as the basis for an individual or joint project - or we acquire external inventions - the development phase - to generate our own technologies that can even become independent businesses (spin-out)".
Four steps to an innovative destination
The specialist invited to the ICT's workshop summarized the Open Innovation model in four basic steps: "The first is to know oneself well - what model of innovation is optimal for my business?; the second is to know the outside world - competitors, suppliers, necessary science and technology, customers, users, etc.; imagine where you want to go and how you want to get there; and finally, make a detailed implementation plan that convinces all stakeholders".
In conclusion, Bax stressed that although this process is desirable, "the characteristic that should never be lacking in an organization is its ability to learn, both from what works for it and from what does not".