The output of a roundtable with 40 European, US and Chinese Corporate innovation leaders and practitioners. The roundtable was held in early May, 2019 in London

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The Colinked Corporate Innovation Club is a community of over 120 international and
global corporate brands as well as some government departments and NGO’s. All the
members of the community share a common responsibility and ownership for their
organisation’s engagement with open and collaborative innovation or digital
transformation strategies. The community is by invitation only and has grown now to be
the largest community of Corporate innovators in the world. The community is completely
free to join and meetup six times a year to discuss a topic or theme which has relevance
to their innovation vision, strategies and execution. We also partner with other
community groups on trade missions and executive roundtables for our members to
attend. The meetings are always hosted by a Corporate member of the Corporate
Innovation Club.
Since January 2019 we have also created an online collaborative innovation platform for
Corporates, startups and Investors from around the world to connect with each other and
the innovation programmes the Corporates run. This online community is also completely
free to join and takes minutes to register as a member. Find more details on the platform
and register to participate at www.colinked.io.
MEETING REPORT, MAY 1ST, 2019
The Anglo-Chinese Corporate
Innovation Roundtable
Meeting Theme
Corporate innovation thrives when it is founded on open-mindedness. It prospers when
informed by ideas that come from outside one’s own company, or even region. As such,
collaboration across national and continental borders brings myriad opportunities.
Innovating with a globally-informed mindset, however, is easier said than done.
Embracing distinct cultures, understanding unfamiliar markets and choosing the right
partners in distant regions can be an intimidating process, and may even be understood
to add friction to the practice of innovation. It is tempting to instead stick to the familiar,
and deliver Corporate innovation by focusing on proven, understood approaches, or via a
well-established framework. The opportunity of working with contemporaries in other
regions is significant. Harnessing that opportunity, however, is another thing altogether.

2. There has long been talk that China will emerge as a global superpower. Arguably, today
China has held that very position for many years. China is home to myriad different
Corporations and technology giants and is a place where innovation thrives. In the West,
Corporate innovation is in equally good health. But it is fair to say that while some
Corporate practice is the same in both the East and the West, each region provides a very
different foundation for innovation. As such, having an open mind to learning from your
contemporaries on the other side of the East/West ‘divide’ can empower and inform your
own approach to Corporate innovation. Equally, there are numerous opportunities in
partnering with fellow innovators across the East/West regions and collaborating with
startups and scaleups from countries outside one’s own.
With that in mind, the Colinked Corporate Innovation Club and CENTI networks gathered
in central London to share ideas, learn from frank conversations, and broaden their view
of what Corporate innovation can be. This brief report summarises the themes and ideas
discussed at what was a particularly energetic, enthusiastic gathering.
Key Takeaways
Corporations and self-perception
Through several of the presentations, panels, and workshops from the roundtable, one
theme that came up several times was the notion of how Corporations think of or
perceive themselves. It was put forward that many giant Corporations begin life as nimble
startups or agile technology creators and understandably become less flexible, dynamic
and responsive as they grow. Others suggested large Corporates can on occasion rely too
heavily on their size and status – and perhaps achievements in their early history – when
trying to be innovative.
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With all that in mind, the Colinked Corporate Innovation club joined forces with CENTI to
host a special Corporate Innovation Club roundtable. The gathering was hosted to
encourage idea sharing between UK and Chinese Corporate innovators, and those in
related roles. CENTI is a cross-border platform conceived to connect European technology
startups and SMEs with the vast Chinese market.

3. As such, it was suggested by some of the Chinese Corporates in attendance that to be
more innovative – and more productively innovative – Corporations should try and shift
how they perceive themselves. Such a shift may better prepare Corporate innovators
looking to partner across the East/West divide. In the era of the platform economy as a
dominant economic and cultural force, thinking like a technology company or platform
holder may engender greater innovative thinking, agility and a mindset of failing forward.
A hypothetical e-commerce Corporate, for example, should not consider itself a logistics
operation, marketplace provider, store or stocking organisation, but as a transaction
platform.
It may seem trivial, but thinking ‘how would we approach innovation as a technology
company rather than a Corporate?’ could have a profound impact on Corporate innovation
strategy, and a Corporation’s ability to partner across distinct regions.
Failing forward versus practical gains
It was suggested that in China there is more willingness for Corporate innovation
initiatives – and even Corporate activity more broadly – to take risks and fail forward.
Equally, UK innovators with experience in China reported a greater commitment to the
experimental by their partners in the East. It was likewise posited that in the UK there is
more concern from C-suite and other keyholders that Corporate innovation initiatives
deliver Corporation-wide efficiency gains, financial efficiency, and financial gains. Those
practical gains can be important, and something for Chinese Corporate innovators to
consider as worthy of additional focus. But the UK’s Corporate innovators should be more
willing to fail and manage C-suite expectation and motivation that may stifle true
innovation. That can be done in part by looking to their Chinese contemporaries for
inspiration and validation.
Agility, experience, and Anlgo-Chinese collaboration
During the meeting, it was put forward that while Chinese Corporate innovation is in its
‘adolescence’, UK Corporate innovation is nearing its ‘mid-forties’. Despite the playful
framing, the point is substantial. Chinese Corporate innovators tend to be more agile,
more open-minded, and less constrained by established convention. Their UK
counterparts, meanwhile, can bring deep knowledge, pragmatism, and greater experience
of practical implication. That makes the potential impact of UK and Chinese collaboration
on Corporate innovation projects significant and powerful. There was much willingness in
the room to see such collaboration, from both Chinese outfits keen to engage with the UK
markets and industry, and UK companies looking to ‘crack’ China.
China and the ‘population dividend’
With over 18.4 % of the Earth’s population – or 1.4 billion people – living in China today,
the scale of opportunity in the country is globally recognised.
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“Many giant Corporations begin life as nimble startups or agile
technology creators and understandably become less flexible,
dynamic and responsive as they grow.”

4. As such, notions of a ‘population dividend’ govern and impact much Corporate innovation
thinking in the country. Being such a well-populated country, China’s technological
ecosystems are larger, company headcounts are tremendously high, and problems are
grander in scale. That does mean, however, that there is a vast opportunity in solving or
meeting those challenges of scale, and a chance to deliver change that goes beyond the
Corporate world. If a Chinese Corporation has 300,000-plus staff, a successful Corporate
innovation initiative within that company may benefit the lives of a sizable group of
people. Improving a third-of-a-million peoples’ lives is no small thing. As such, the gains
enjoyed arguably have a meaningful societal benefit beyond the walls of a Corporation
itself. That can serve as a meaningful opportunity, and a powerful motivator to drive
innovation to delivery. Indeed, it may provide an opportunity to link Corporate innovation
and Corporate responsibility.
“UK Corporate innovators should be more willing to fail and manage
C-suite expectation and motivation that may stifle true innovation.
That can be done in part by looking to their Chinese contemporaries
for inspiration and validation.”
The opportunity in pairing China’s vast tech ecosystem with startups and scale-ups
China provides some seriously powerful technology platforms as a foundation for
innovation and business. The embryonic 5G network in China as it currently stands is a
huge platform that may manifest as an enormous opportunity for startups, scale-ups, and
Corporates. Delivering early on a Chinese-scale technology platform may bring
momentous gains for any organisation involved, be they a startup or Corporation. It is
likely to open collaboration between small outfits and established Corporations will best
prepare any organisation for harnessing such an opportunity. As such Corporate
innovation – which is increasingly defined by open collaboration with smaller companies –
is emerging as a key driver in seizing that opportunity. Discussion in the room during the
Anglo-Chine roundtable ultimately concluded that it may be best for Western Corporates
to partner with both Chinese tech giants and startups or scale-ups simultaneously, so as
to best understand and approach building on expansive technological platforms.
At this point it is worth being aware of the notion of the ‘BAT’ companies; that is, the
Chinese tech giants that are equivalent to the likes of Google, Amazon, and Facebook.
‘BAT’ stands for ‘Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent’ referring to three sizable Chinese
technology companies with great sway and status locally and globally. It was proposed
during the roundtable that rather than bowing to pressure to host internal innovation
initiatives, incubators or accelerators, Western Corporations, and the BAT companies
could gain more by partnering together on globally facing, truly independent initiatives.
There is an opportunity for both Corporations and the BAT three in combining their
different experiences and approaches, in combination with the vast Chinese technological
ecosystem.
Innovation in China means innovation everywhere
China’s abundant population and colossal technological ecosystem provide Corporate
innovators with more than just an opportunity in China.
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5. For Further Discussion/Consideration
• How can Western Corporate innovators best understand and approach the relative
lack of regulation across some of China’s technological ecosystem?
• What challenges and opportunities might the relatively modest size of the UK
population and Corporate infrastructure present Chinese Corporate innovators? Why
partner with UK innovators?
• What can Chinese and UK Corporate innovators learn from one another regarding
developing metrics that measure the impact and success of given initiatives?
Despite the regional differences, many lessons learned to solve problems in China through
innovation can be applied globally; potentially with less friction and challenge. At the
meeting, it was suggested that taking the smallest problem and multiplying it by the
country’s population equals a ‘big problem’. As such, solutions and approaches that work
– or even fail forward – in China will potentially succeed elsewhere with relative ease.
Innovation success delivered in China may need to be appropriated culturally, financially
or from a regulatory perspective to function elsewhere, but the potential remains to learn
valuable lessons through innovating in China. UK and Chinese Corporations that combine
distinct expertise and experience in China may find themselves well-armed to partner and
succeed across the globe.
Bridging the East/West divide?
While the fundamentals of Corporate innovation can be considered to be broadly similar
across the East and West, business convention, regulation, platform holders, industry
structure, technological ecosystem and more vary wildly. It was emphasised that China’s
markets, in particular, are remarkably distinct, and the rules and conventions from UK and
Western markets, on the whole, don’t translate. Several of those sharing insight at the
roundtable agreed that a UK company looking to partner in China for a Corporate
Innovation initiative – or any Corporate activity – should work with a local entrenched
operative that is deeply engaged with the region. While it was less explicitly emphasised,
there was some sentiment that the same would be appropriate for a Chinese company
looking to partner in the UK. A key takeaway was the message that – when it comes to
collaboration across the East/West divide – no Corporation is ‘to big to learn’. Approach
distinct markets with an open mind to learning, and embrace the aforementioned notion
of being ‘startup minded’.
“When it comes to collaboration across the East/West divide – no
Corporation is ‘to big to learn’.”
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