As a consequence of the loosening of the company borders, open innovation expands the available innovation potential in terms of finances and personnel. This can contribute to a shortening of the innovation cycles. The investment in or acquisition of other companies, for example, can significantly cut down the time to market. Jacobs and Waalkens proved that a shortening of the time to market is a fundamental motivation for the opening of the innovation process in their study “Innovation Squared: Innovation in the Organization of Innovation” from 2001. Besides the opportunity to accelerate innovation, additional innovation fields are suddenly perceived which would possibly not be considered from a purely internal perspective.   

Pioneers demonstrate what open innovation can do

In the study “Open Innovation in Practice: An Analysis of ­Strategic Approaches to Technology Transactions” published by Dr Lichtenthaler (WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management) in 2008, it was determined that most companies have not yet warmed up to the possibility of conducting innovation activities beyond the company’s own borders. No differences specific to any particular industry were determined. In the course of the study, it was also proved that earnings potential is improved in the form of higher return on sales when open innovation methods are used. The Detecon study “Core Capabilities of ICT Innovation Management” conducted in 2008 used the ICT industry as an example to show that the internal innovation sources were regarded as the most important by the surveyed companies. But it was simultaneously determined that partnerships with suppliers, cooperation with external institutes, and the acquisition of startups were regarded as important drivers in the innovation process.  

Successful examples of cross-company innovation activities in the ICT sector are the cooperation between Apple and Nike and the acquisition of external know-how by Cisco. The two companies Apple and Nike have jointly developed and marketed the training system “Nike+iPod” (www.nikeplus.com). A sensor which has been built into the Nike running shoe transmits data about the run to a receiver on the iPod. These data are communicated to the runner during the training phase and can be evaluated on a PC after the run. Cisco has implemented the open innovation paradigm in a different form. More than any other company, Cisco has understood how to obtain the required know-how externally, e.g., through the acquisition of startups, venture capital investments, or cooperative development ­ventures. By opening up to external companies, Cisco has been able to push aside the one-time leader Lucent. The Internet companies Yahoo! (the example of the Flickr ­acquisition) and Google (the example of the acquisitions of Android or YouTube) have been similarly successful in acquiring external know-how.