Talk given at Tsinghua University, Beijing, by Dr Tim Minshall and Dr Letizia Mortara on 18th June 2013. The event was organised as part of the EC-HVEN project (www.birmingham.ac.uk/hven) and Open Innovation Research Forum.

1. Centre for Technology Management
Open Innovation:
Evolution of research at Cambridge University
Engineering Department
Dr Letizia Mortara and Dr Tim Minshall
www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/ctm

2. Centre for Technology Management
Overview
• Context
• Evolution of Cambridge research
• Specific examples:
– Culture, skills, metrics and IP in MNCs
– The use of intermediaries
– Asymmetric partnerships
– Technology acquisition
– OI in SMEs
• Emerging areas of interest:
– Location, the role of universities

3. Centre for Technology Management
Research Development Commercialisation
Market Focus
Company
Boundaries



 
‘Closed’ new product / service development process

4. Centre for Technology Management
When closed innovation did not work ..

5. Centre for Technology Management
Pictures:; www.tigenix.com; www.functionalfoodinfo.com; wikipedia.org; makerbot.com

6. Centre for Technology Management
Research Development Commercialisation
Core Market Focus
Company
Boundaries
Products in-sourced
(e.g. Co-branding)
Intellectual
Property (IP) in-
licensing
Intellectual
Property (IP) out-
licensing
Technology
Spin-outs
Ideas &
Technologies
Docherty, M. (2006), Primer on „Open Innovation‟: Principles and Practice, pdma (Product Development and Management Association) Vision (April 2006), pp.13-17.
Chesbrough, H. (2003), Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting From Technology, Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
‘Open’ new product / service development process

7. Centre for Technology Management
Overview
• Context
• Evolution of Cambridge research
• Specific examples:
– Culture, skills, metrics and IP in MNCs
– The use of intermediaries
– Asymmetric partnerships
– Technology acquisition
– OI in SMEs
• Emerging areas of interest:
– Location, the role of universities

8. Centre for Technology Management
Skills
Acquisition &
protection
Culture
Metrics
Make vs. Buy
Collaborative NPI
Open Innovation
Implementation
Today
Role of Technology
Intermediaries
Open innovation in SMEs
OI, location and role
of universities
Alliance-based
Business Models
Technology
Intelligence
Evolution of our research

9. Centre for Technology Management
Cambridge Open Innovation Network (COIN)

10. Centre for Technology Management

11. Centre for Technology Management
Overview
• Context
• Evolution of Cambridge research
• Specific examples:
– Culture, skills, metrics and IP in MNCs
– The use of intermediaries
– Asymmetric partnerships
– Technology acquisition
– OI in SMEs
• Emerging areas of interest:
– Location, the role of universities

12. Centre for Technology Management
Management challenges of open innovation
Intellectual property
Metrics
Organisational
National
What are they?
How to get them?
Reward?
Promotion?

13. Centre for Technology Management
Two ways of implementing Open Innovation
Ad hoc, externalIn-house
With thanks to Dr Letizia Mortara

14. Centre for Technology Management
Overview
• Context
• Evolution of Cambridge research
• Specific examples:
– Culture, skills, metrics and IP in MNCs
– The use of intermediaries
– Asymmetric partnerships
– Technology acquisition
– OI in SMEs
• Emerging areas of interest:
– Location, the role of universities

15. Centre for Technology Management
Two ways of implementing Open Innovation
Ad hoc, externalIn-house
With thanks to Dr Letizia Mortara

16. Centre for Technology Management
Spoilt for choice
With thanks to Dr Letizia Mortara

17. Centre for Technology Management
Intermediaries selection criteria
Intermediaries
selection criteria
Networks
Business
Models
Style and
approach
Capabilities
With thanks to Dr Letizia Mortara

18. Centre for Technology Management
Effect of innovation management consultancy services on
the R&D and Marketing relationship
OBJECTIVE: To understand how innovation
management consultancy services (IMCS)
impact the relationship between R&D and
Marketing in large companies
METHODOLOGY: 12 in-depth case studies of IMCS in MNCs
Rincón- Argüelles, Minshall and Phaal, 2013
EXPECTED OUTCOME: Define a framework to assess the effect of
Innovation management consultancy services
Determine changes on intra-organizational relationships obtained as a
consequence of a consultancy intervention

19. Centre for Technology Management
Overview
• Context
• Evolution of Cambridge research
• Specific examples:
– Culture, skills, metrics and IP in MNCs
– The use of intermediaries
– Asymmetric partnerships
– Technology acquisition
– OI in SMEs
• Emerging areas of interest:
– Location, the role of universities

20. Centre for Technology Management
Very different
organisations
Start-up
Large company

21. Centre for Technology Management
Examples of management
problems:
The technology works in the
start-up’s lab, but will it work
in the ‘real world’?

22. Centre for Technology Management
Technology Readiness Levels: Who pays for
raising the readiness level of the technology?
Readiness
level
Stage of development
Product
implementation
9
Demonstrated fully production capable
over 6 month period
8
7
Pre-production
6
5
4
Assessment and
proving
3
2
1 Process concept proposed

23. Centre for Technology Management
How to overcome the ‘Not Invented Here’
syndrome?
The start-up’s technology looks
very promising …
... but why are you not using
technology from internal R&D?

24. Centre for Technology Management
How to overcome reputational risk of failure?
If the technology is embedded in
your product …
... whose reputation is at risk if the
technology fails?

25. Centre for Technology Management
Overview
• Context
• Evolution of Cambridge research
• Specific examples:
– Culture, skills, metrics and IP in MNCs
– The use of intermediaries
– Asymmetric partnerships
– Technology acquisition
– OI in SMEs
• Emerging areas of interest:
– Location, the role of universities

26. Centre for Technology Management
Acquisition and internal development
Maturity
X
Maturity
X + Y
Examples:
Firm acquisition
In-licensing
Dr Simon Ford & Dr Letizia Mortara, Institute for Manufacturing

27. Centre for Technology Management
External development and acquisition
Maturity
X
Maturity
X + Y
Examples:
Outsourcing
Incubation
Equity investment
Idea competitions
Dr Simon Ford & Dr Letizia Mortara, Institute for Manufacturing

28. Centre for Technology Management
Collaborative development and acquisition
Maturity
X
Maturity
X + Y
Examples:
Partnerships
Consortia
Dr Simon Ford & Dr Letizia Mortara, Institute for Manufacturing

29. Centre for Technology Management
Internal issues
Technological knowledge
Employee know-how and skills
Related intellectual property
Organisational resistance
Organisational fit
Organisational support
Technology issues
Motivation match
Valuation
Protection
Development requirements
Importance of developers
Total cost of acquisition
Partner issues
Relationship
Strategic alignment
Cultural alignment
Transaction experience
?
The technology acquisition match
„Technology acquisitions: A guided approach to technology acquisition
and protection decisions‟, Mortara and Ford, IfM, 2012

30. Centre for Technology Management
Overview
• Context
• Evolution of Cambridge research
• Specific examples:
– Culture, skills, metrics and IP in MNCs
– The use of intermediaries
– Asymmetric partnerships
– Technology acquisition
– OI in SMEs
• Emerging areas of interest:
– Location, the role of universities

31. Centre for Technology Management
The influence of CEO characteristics on open innovation
in innovation-oriented SMEs
RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVES
 Investigate relevance of OI to SMEs & relationship between internal R&D&
openness
 Viewing OI in innovative SMEs through the lens of CEO characteristics
Joonmo Ahn, Tim Minshall and Letizia Mortara, 2013
 Too much R&D can be detrimental to business performance in SMEs
☞ Openness is antecedent of good performance in SMEs, and can play greater role than R&D
 CEOs’ attitude towards OI play an vital role in increasing openness
☞ CEO’s education & academic network are highly associate with degree of openness
DATA AND METHOD
 On-line (e-mail) survey of 401 innovation-oriented Korean SMEs
 Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)
RESULTS

32. Centre for Technology Management
The impact of location on open innovation
implementation in UK high-tech SMEs
• Context:
– Cluster theory, new economic geography, business
ecosystem
• Perspectives:
– Absolute geography, relative proximity, cognitive
distance
• Initial results
– Tangible versus intangible effects
– Impact on transaction partners, transaction types ad
transaction activities
Weiss and Minshall, 2012

33. Centre for Technology Management
Overview
• Context
• Evolution of Cambridge research
• Specific examples:
– Culture, skills, metrics and IP in MNCs
– The use of intermediaries
– Asymmetric partnerships
– Technology acquisition
– OI in SMEs
• Emerging areas of interest:
– Location, the role of universities

34. Centre for Technology Management
Does it matter where you do open innovation?

35. Centre for Technology Management
With open innovation, ideas and partners
can be anywhere ..

36. Centre for Technology Management
Philips & High Tech Campus Eindhoven

37. Centre for Technology Management
Sumitomo Chemical, CDT and Cambridge
• Inkjet cluster strong in
Cambridge
• CU spin-out CDT
developed ecosystem of
partners (locally and
internationally) to
develop P-OLED displays
using inkjet technologies
• Sumitomo Chemical was
long-term development
partner then acquired
CDT.

38. Centre for Technology Management
Open innovation and location
• How much investment do you need to make at particular
locations to get the benefit of open innovation?
– Build new lab? Have local ‘technology scout’? Invest in local start-up
ventures?
• What resources do you provide?
– At Eindhoven High Tech Campus, start-ups have access to Philips’
labs and production testing facilities
• What resources can you get?
– What can the local university provide? What are the ‘industrial
commons’ available locally (e.g. deep knowledge of inkjet
technologies around Cambridge)

39. Centre for Technology Management
Overview
• Context
• Evolution of Cambridge research
• Specific examples:
– Culture, skills, metrics and IP in MNCs
– The use of intermediaries
– Asymmetric partnerships
– Technology acquisition
– OI in SMEs
• Emerging areas of interest:
– Location, the role of universities

40. Centre for Technology Management
Dr Eoin O‟Sullivan, http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/research/csti/

41. Centre for Technology Management
Changing universities
• Changing roles
– Emergence of 3rd mission: research + teaching +
application
• Pressures on funding for research
– Squeeze on public spending
– Push to increased industry funding
– Risks of drift to application focus
• Changing drivers of behaviour and metrics
– „Impact‟ within „Research Excellence‟

42. Centre for Technology Management
From Dr Eoin O’Sullivan, adapted from: Wayne C Johnson, VP, HP University Relations Worldwide
Awareness
Involvement
Support
Sponsorship
Strategic
Partner
PHASE 1PHASE 2 PHASE 3 PHASE 4 PHASE 5
Partnership Building: The “Partnership Continuum”
•Career Fairs
•Industry
Advisors
•Industry
Affiliate
•Internships
•Workshops
& Seminars
• Guest lectures
• Event
sponsorship
•Curriculum Dev
•Student
Fellowships
•Project support
•Collaborative
research
•University
initiative
sponsorship
•Long term
partnership
•Jointly shape
projects
•Major gifts
•Business
development
TimeTRUST
• Level of Engagement
• Expectation of impact
• Operational Complexity
Dr Eoin O‟Sullivan, http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/research/csti/

43. Centre for Technology Management
CU Engineering Department 4th Strategic Theme
“Inspiring Research Through Industrial Collaboration”
1. Investigate
(What works? Why? How?)
Build evidence base, develop
theory, develop tools and processes
2. Inform and Inspire
(Why & how do you do it?)
Run training workshops, develop
on-line resources, run
masterclasses, run annual
conference
3. Implement
(Doing it)
Opportunity communication tools,
pilot projects, develop partnership
management network and
processes
www.engineerimpact.info

44. Centre for Technology Management
RAEng Visiting Professors of Innovation
• Pieter Knook was formerly
Director of Internet Services
at Vodafone and President of
Microsoft Asia.
• Sam Beale was Head of
Technology Strategy at Rolls-
Royce Group.
• Rick Mitchell was Group
Technical and Quality
Director at Domino Printing
Sciences.
www.engineerimpact.info

45. Centre for Technology Management
Overview
• Context
• Evolution of Cambridge research
• Specific examples:
– Culture, skills, metrics and IP in MNCs
– The use of intermediaries
– Asymmetric partnerships
– Technology acquisition
– OI in SMEs
• Emerging areas of interest:
– Location, the role of universities

46. Centre for Technology Management
http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/research/ctm/openinnovation/

47. Centre for Technology Management
Selected publications
• Minshall, T. H. W., F. Livesey, L. Mortara, J. J. Napp, Y. Shi and Y. Zhang (2010).
Manufacturing and Open Innovation. Nanotechnologies for Future Mobile Devices. T.
Ryhänen, M. A. Uusitalo, O. Ikkala and A. Kärkkäinen. Cambridge UK, Cambridge
University Press ISBN 978-0521112161.
• Mortara, L., J. J. Napp, S. Ford and T. H. W. Minshall (2011). Open Innovation
activities to foster Corporate Entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship and Technological
Change. L. Cassia, T. Minola and S. Paleari. Cheltenham, UK • Northampton, MA,
USA, Edward Elgar: 293-322.
• Rincón- Argüelles, L., T. H. W. Minshall and R. Phaal (2013). Effect of innovation
management consultancy services on the R&D and marketing relationship. IAMOT
2013. Porto Alegre, Brazil 14-18 April.
• Weiss, D. and T. Minshall (2012). New perspectives on Open Innovation: The role of
relative proximity on open innovation implementation in UK high-tech SMEs. 26th
International Conference on Manufacturing Research, 11-13 September 2012. Aston
Business School, Birmingham, UK.
• Ahn, J., L. Mortara and T. Minshall (2013). The influences of CEO characteristics on
open innovation in innovation-oriented SMEs. R&D Management Association (RADMA)

48. Centre for Technology Management
Selected publications
• Minshall, T., L. Mortara, S. Elia and D. Probert (2008). "Development of practitioner
guidelines for partnerships between start-ups and large firms." Journal of
Manufacturing Technology Management: 391-406.
• Minshall, T. H. W., L. Mortara, D. Probert and R. Valli (2010). "Making 'asymmetric'
partnerships work." Research Technology Management May-June: 53-63.
• Minshall, T. H. W., S. Seldon and D. Probert (2007). "Commercializing a disruptive
technology based upon university IP through open innovation: A case study of
Cambridge Display Technology." International Journal of Innovation and Technology
Management 4(3): 225 - 239.
• Mortara, L. and T. Minshall (2011). "How do large multinational companies implement
open innovation?" Technovation 31(10-11): 586-597.
• Mortara, L., T. H. W. Minshall, J. J. Napp and I. Slacik (2010). "Implementing Open
Innovation: cultural issues " International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Management 11(4): 369-397.
• Mortara, L., J. J. Napp, I. Slacik and T. H. W. Minshall (2009). How to implement
open innovation: Lessons from studying large multinational companies, University of
Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing ISBN: 978-1-902546-75-9.