Fall 2007 | Henry W. Chesbrough, Melissa M. Appleyard
The article "Open Innovation and Strategy" by Henry W. Chesbrough and Melissa M. Appleyard explores the impact of open innovation on traditional business strategy. They argue that open innovation, characterized by the pooling of knowledge and collective creativity, challenges the traditional focus on ownership and control in business strategy. The authors highlight the success of open initiatives like Linux and MySpace, which have leveraged external contributions to create significant value. However, they also point out the challenges these initiatives face, such as value capture and sustainability. To address these issues, the authors propose a new approach called "open strategy," which balances the benefits of openness with the need for value capture. This approach involves managing innovation communities, ecosystems, and networks while ensuring that the initiative remains sustainable over time. The article concludes by discussing the emergence of new business models in open source software and the importance of traditional business strategy in mitigating the challenges of open innovation.The article "Open Innovation and Strategy" by Henry W. Chesbrough and Melissa M. Appleyard explores the impact of open innovation on traditional business strategy. They argue that open innovation, characterized by the pooling of knowledge and collective creativity, challenges the traditional focus on ownership and control in business strategy. The authors highlight the success of open initiatives like Linux and MySpace, which have leveraged external contributions to create significant value. However, they also point out the challenges these initiatives face, such as value capture and sustainability. To address these issues, the authors propose a new approach called "open strategy," which balances the benefits of openness with the need for value capture. This approach involves managing innovation communities, ecosystems, and networks while ensuring that the initiative remains sustainable over time. The article concludes by discussing the emergence of new business models in open source software and the importance of traditional business strategy in mitigating the challenges of open innovation.