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

利努斯·达兰德 马丁·沃林 刘棋文

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 its often overlooked in normal circumstances. For more than a decade， weve 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 hasnt yet come true.

The recent burst of open innovation， however， reminds us of the massive potential that open innovation comes with—whether youre 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

Earlier research has found that many companies are extremely worried about value “leaking” from collaborations with outsiders. As a result， they often stick to their knitting4 and collaborate on a few peripheral tasks， but not on the most important business issues. They wouldnt reveal what their most critical problems entailed， as that could endanger future patenting. Instead the innovation partnerships slipped into irrelevance.

These intellectual property concerns are of course real and important， but they risk blocking any open innovation initiative from gaining momentum. However， during the Covid-19 crisis it could be wise to focus more on creating value than capturing value.

Leverage two-sided motivation

As the initial open innovation enthusiasm has settled， companies often realize that they rely on voluntary and active participation of employees and partners to succeed—traditional means of command and control have little reach. Instead companies need to rely on a combination of hard and soft incentives to motivate internal and external collaborators. Companies need to identify—and respond to—their partners true motivation.

Embrace new partners

A common challenge in open innovation is to take on new partners. New partners always entail costs in terms of search， validation， and compliance， as well as the forming of new social relationships between people. And we know that when it comes to big thorny problems like Covid-19， new partners are necessary to provide complementary skills and perspectives.

The massive scale of the Covid-19 crisis may have alleviated5 these challenges in at least two ways. First， top management has assumed a lot of the risk associated with new partners， by sending strong messages that open innovation is the way to go.

Second， not only the spread of the virus has grown exponentially6 but the pool7 of potential partners as well. When companies across the globe are affected by the same crisis， and many are searching for new ways to conduct business， a combinatorial exercise suggests that there are many better partners available now than a month ago. A crisis can prompt companies to explore a greater number and even new kinds of partners. Preserving some of that open-minded attitude towards new partners after the crisis can help companies stay on top of innovation.

Urgency leads transformation

The initial steps towards open innovation in “normal times” are relatively simple. For example， hire some consultants， set up an innovation tournament， wait for ideas to come in. The results though are usually quite meager8. To fully reap the rewards from open innovation， companies need to recognize the transformational challenge ahead. These initiatives are often the tip of the iceberg， and successful open innovation often requires operational and structural changes to how business is done. Such changes are difficult for any one employee， team， or even business unit to undertake.

In a time of crisis， the necessary executive focus is suddenly there. Smart companies seize this opportunity to rethink their innovation infrastructure. Perhaps our own sector， higher education， could stand as a beacon of hope that open innovation can work on a truly grand scale—and that a conservative sector can change. Many of us were told that classes starting the day after had to be replaced by digital alternatives. Much was left for individual teachers to figure out， but university presidents sent reassuring messages endorsing experimentation and clearing bureaucratic hurdles. In the past few weeks， academics across the globe have been collaborating， sharing tips， tricks， teaching plans， and experiences to turn an often slow-moving colossus9 into an agile digital sprinter10. It shows that often the biggest barrier to successful open innovation is simply the reticence11 to commit to it.

Looking ahead

These are promising developments. But to what extent will these observations hold true in the future？ As business will one day go back to normal， how many of the altered ways of innovating will stick inside companies？ And how will we as a society face other grand challenges， such as global warming， that are no longer looming on the horizon12 but are already here？ We hope that the worlds response to the novel coronavirus has taught us that a truly shared experience of a common enemy can unlock the speed， strength and creativity needed to address even the greatest challenges.

For managers， an important reflection is to think about what needs to be delivered after the crisis. A big crisis often alters the behavior of customers， employees， and partners. Perhaps you have reason to believe the customer preferences will stay the same， but often they do not. Having established new ways of doing open innovation during a crisis can then bring much-needed flexibility and， in the end， secure the companys viability. Dont waste those experiences by planning for how to get back to the old normal. Plan for a new normal.                                                            ■

在新冠肺炎危机最初几个月的悲观绝望中，一件出乎意外却令人振奋的事情开始出现：各个公司开始以前所未有的开放态度合作，首先考虑创造价值的能力，然后才是赚钱的机会。例如，德国跨国公司西门子将其“增材制造网络”开放给了所有在医疗器械设计方面需要帮助的人。

合作顯然可以挽救人的生命，但也可为公司带来巨大利益——尽管正常情况下它常遭到忽视。十多年来，我们一直在研究开放式创新，教会了成千上万名主管和学生如何进行分布式、分散式和参与式创新。课堂上的反应通常是：“我的公司需要更多这样的东西！”然而，尽管热情高涨，但罕有公司能坚持到底。我们还目睹了某些公司利用黑客马拉松和其他形式的开放式创新，激发了大量创意，却从未真正实施，从而令员工和合作伙伴失意沮丧。在许多公司，这种分布式、分散式、参与式的创新仍是一个尚未实现的雄心而已。

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）