Why Now Is the Time for “Open Innovation”为什么现在要“开放式创新”

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  Amidst the gloom and doom of the early months of the Covid-19 crisis, something surprisingly uplifting started to happen: Companies began to come together to work openly at an unprecedented level, putting the ability to create value before the opportunity to make a buck. The German multinational Siemens, for instance, opened up its Additive Manufacturing Network1 to anyone who needs help in medical device design.
   Collaboration can obviously save human lives, but it can also produce huge benefits for companies—even though it’s often overlooked in normal circumstances. For more than a decade, we’ve studied open innovation and have taught thousands of executives and students how to innovate in a more distributed, decentralized and participatory way. The classroom response is usually, “My company needs more of this!” But despite the enthusiasm, companies rarely follow through. We have also witnessed how companies have used hackathons2 and other forms of open innovation to generate heaps of creative ideas that never reach the point of implementation, leading to frustration among employees and partners. At many companies this kind of distributed, decentralized, and participatory way of innovating remains an ambition that hasn’t yet come true.
   The recent burst of open innovation, however, reminds us of the massive potential that open innovation comes with—whether you’re in a crisis or not. Open innovation has the potential to widen the space for value creation: It allows for many more ways to create value, be it through new partners with complementary skills or by unlocking hidden potential in long-lasting relationships. In a crisis, open innovation can help organizations find new ways to solve pressing problems and at the same time build a positive reputation. Most importantly it can serve as a foundation for future collaboration—in line with sociological research demonstrating that trust develops when partners voluntarily go the extra mile3, providing unexpected favors to each other.
   While concerns over intellectual property, return on investments, and various unforeseen consequences of open innovation are all valid, what we are experiencing now is an opportunity to innovate through and beyond the crisis. We have discovered a number of lessons that can help companies to not only take advantage of open innovation during the Covid-19 crisis, but to embrace open innovation once the pandemic is over.
  Forget about the IP for the moment   然而,开放式创新最近的迸发提醒我们,无论是否处于危机之中,它都拥有巨大潜力。开放式创新有可能拓宽价值创造的空间:无论是依靠技能互补的新合作伙伴,还是释放长期合作关系尚未挖掘的潜力,它让企业得以有更多方式创造价值。面对危机时,开放式创新可以帮助企业找到新方法解决紧迫问题,同时建立良好声誉。最重要的是,它能铺垫未来的合作——社会学研究表明,当合作伙伴自愿付出更多,为彼此提供意想不到的帮助时,信任感就会提升。
  虽然对开放式创新中的知识产权(IP)、投资回报和各种意外结果的担忧不无道理,但我们现在面对的是一个在危机中和危机过后创新的机会。我们已发现许多经验教训,可以帮助公司不仅在新冠肺炎危机期间利用开放式创新,而且还能在疫情结束后接纳它。
  暂时忘掉IP
  早期研究发现,许多公司非常担心与外部合作会导致价值“泄漏”。因此,他们往往固守主业,在少数外围任务上开展合作,而在最重要的商业问题上并不会合作。他们不会透露其最关键难题所在,因为这可能危及未来的专利。创新伙伴关系反而变得无关紧要。
  当然,对知识产权的担忧是真实且重要的,但它们可能阻碍开放式创新计划得到发展。然而,在新冠肺炎危机期间,明智之举是将更多精力放在创造价值上,而不是获取价值上。
  利用双重激励
  随着最初对开放式创新的热忱逐渐消退,公司往往意识到,成功取决于员工和合作伙伴自愿和积极的参与,传统的命令和控制手段收效甚微。相反,公司需要结合软硬性奖励来激励内外部合作者,还要识别合作伙伴的真实动机并对其作出回应。
  接纳新合作伙伴
  开放式创新中的一个常见挑战是接纳新合作伙伴。寻找、确认和达成一致,以及人与人之间建立新的社会关系,这些涉及新合作伙伴的方面总是需要成本。我们知道,在面对新冠肺炎等重大棘手问题时,需要新合作伙伴提供互补的技能和视角。
  大规模的新冠肺炎危机或许至少在两方面缓解了这些挑战。首先,高层管理人员明确表示开放式创新是必由之路,从而承担了与新合作伙伴相关的许多风险。
  其次,病毒传播呈指数级增长的同时,潜在的合作伙伴也在快速增加。当全球的公司都受到同一场危机的影响,并且许多公司都在寻找新的方式开展业务时,一次联合操作表明,相比于一个月前,现在有许多更好的合作伙伴。危机促使公司寻求更多甚至是新型的合作伙伴。危机过后,一定程度上维持对新合作伙伴的开放态度,可以帮助公司保持创新的领先地位。
  紧迫感引领变革
  在“正常时期”,迈出开放式创新的步伐相对简单。例如,聘请一些顾问,举办一场创新比赛,等待创意的出现。不过,其结果通常都很糟糕。为了从开放式创新中充分获取回报,公司需要认识到横亘前方的转型挑战。以上种种举措往往只是冰山一角,成功的开放式创新通常需要对业务模式进行运营和结构上的调整。做出这些改变对任何一个员工、团队,甚或业务部门来说都很难。
  危机期间,必要的管理重点突然出现。明智的公司抓住这个机会重新考量自己的创新基础设施。或许我们自己的领域,即高等教育领域,可以作为希望的灯塔,标志着开放式创新能真正大规模地发挥作用,标志着保守的领域也可以改变。我们许多老师得知次日开始的课程必须换为数字课程。教师个人要解决很多问题,但大学校长们发出了让人心安的消息:支持创新实验,并清除各种官僚主义障碍。过去几周,全球的学者一直在合作,分享建议、技巧、教学计划和经验,把一个往往慢吞吞的巨人变成敏捷的数字短跑运动员。这表明开放式创新成功的最大障碍常常就是拒绝去做。
  展望未来
  这些都是前景可期的进展。但这些观点未来在多大程度上会仍然适用昵?业务终有一天回归正常,这些已改变的创新方式有多少会在公司内保留下来?我们整个社会将如何面对诸如全球变暖的重大挑战?这些挑战已不是欲来的风雨,而是业已到来。我们希望,世界对新冠病毒的应对已让我们明白:真正做到同仇敌忾,就能释放出相应的速度、力量和创造力来应对即使最大的挑战。
  对管理者来说,一个重要的反思是危机过后应该做什么。一场大危機往往会改变客户、员工和合作伙伴的行为。也许您有理由相信客户的偏好会保持不变,但往往并非如此。如果在危机期间建立起了开放式创新的新方式,我们就会拥有迫切需要的灵活性,并最终确保公司的生存能力。不要规划如何回到过去的常态,从而浪费了这些经历。为新常态规划吧。     □
  (译者单位:江西师范大学外国语学院)
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