Learning Alliances and Open Innovation

New technologies enable in many ways social innovation, especially where it concerns innovation and recognizing and exploiting substantial opportunities in a global market, firms can no longer afford a "go it alone" strategy. Therefore, in entrepreneurship and business development processes the ability to manage the balance of strong and weak ties in globalizing networks, to collaborate in alliances, and to work in dynamically changing virtual organizations with others is increasingly critical to the firm's performance and social impact.

Some examples of new technologies and their effect on social change are: advances in ICT facilitates the easy exchange of rich information across organizations and enables the "death of distance" influencing efficiency of global organizations, for example in e-hrm practices. ICT converging with biomedical technology allows elderly people to live longer in their home generating health care reforms. Nanotechnology offers unprecedented possibilities for creating new materials (e.g. for solar cells), new sensors (e.g. security, health, industry related). Such opportunities may constitute creative destructive opportunities for entrepreneurs, however which processes lead to successful value creation, who are seizing these opportunities and how? Essential changes of an industry, technology dynamics and systemic innovations happen in complex networks. In this research theme special attention is given to the role of networking, alliances and open innovation. Heterogeneous actors work together, e.g. in university-industry networks, large firms and start ups, in short or long value chains and often in global networks. This theme also investigates how collaboration in alliances enables integration of internal and external knowledge and contribute to social innovation. It also studies learning alliances and other examples of open innovation. It also investigates the role that the active involvement of customers can play in triggering change and exploring new directions, based on the idea of "democratizing innovation". The role of social entrepreneurship in democratizing innovation in developed and developing countries complements the research in purely commercial settings.

Theme Leader: Prof.dr. Aard Groen

Researchers working on this theme

Prof.dr. Aard Groen (Coordinator)

Dries Faems

Rainer Harms

Jeroen Kraaijenbrink

Marianne van der Steen

Marc Wouters

Joop Halman

Holger Schiele

Ariane von Raesfeld Meijer

Petra de Weerd - Nederhof

Shaker Zahra

Bas ter Weel

Charmianne Dunnewijk-Lemmens

Elise Meijer

Luc Soete

Martin Carree

Wilko Letterie

Yvonne Kirkels

Theme 4: Learning Alliances and Open Innovation

Especially where it concerns innovation and recognizing and exploiting substantial opportunities in a global market, firms can no longer afford a “go it alone” strategy. Instead, the ability to collaborate in alliances and in dynamically changing virtual organizations with others is increasingly critical to the firm’s performance. Advances in ICT have facilitated the easy exchange of rich information across organizations and enabled the “death of distance” but of course behind the success of such collaborative initiatives lies the strategic ability to select the right partners and create suitable conditions that are beneficial to all.

Theme 4 investigates how different modalities of collaboration with business partners and consumers enable the integration of internal and external knowledge and contribute to social innovation. It studies learning alliances and examples of open innovation, via corporate campuses or otherwise. It also investigates the role that active involvement of customers can play to trigger change and explore new directions, based on the idea of “democratizing innovation”.

Theme Leader: Prof. dr. Geert Duysters