As taught by the psychologist's theory of the zone of proximal development Vygotsky and Bandura's social learning, from an early age we learn through interaction with our environment. In particular, through sharing spaces and exchanges with others that allow us to grow and improve. The path fromOpen Innovation allows us to get to the Shared Innovation follows the same steps: it is a new type of innovation that sees its core precisely in the sharing and growth opportunities it offers.
To fully understand this step, we need to take a step back and go to the beginning of the journey. It is important to understand what makes it possible and what the benefits are for companies.
The first step on this path is to understand what is meant by 'Open Innovation'. This is a concept born of the 1990s, more precisely theorised in 2003 by the economist Henry Chesbrough. A paradigm that puts technological development at the centre, stating that:
"Businesses can and must make use of external and internal ideas, accessing markets internally and externally to advance their technological skills».
In fact, open innovation is based on going beyond the boundaries of one's own business sometimes being inspired by the activities of other economic actors to find new ideas and approaches to the market.
Changing the innovation paradigm from the traditional closed model, which was based on vertical integration, companies no longer limit themselves to innovating internally. On the contrary, they now see everything coming from outside as an opportunity. They see the incoming flow of knowledge as a source of inspiration to embark on new paths and to change processes and behaviours hitherto considered functional. This new approach aims to reach the heart of the stakeholder and, above all, to foster the growth of the company's portfolio.
Do Open Innovation, in fact, it can be seen as a real 'wake-up call' of companies to the external environment: realising that better, cutting-edge ideas are able to bring enormous value to certain business and their communities of reference, is theinput necessary to learn to move in new directions.
This constitutes one of the two types of Open Innovation, that 'outside-in'; what happens, however, when it is our business to be an inspiration to others? The answer lies in the second type, the 'inside-out', which consists in opening up to the outside world by granting knowledge little or not at all used by other market players, allowing them to exploit it in their own business.
However, it must be acknowledged that the latter hides an inherent limitation: opening up to the outside world, making part of one's own know-how to enable others to take a step forward, presupposes that underlying this is a purely altruistic willingness to put aside competition and fear of being outclassed, putting the benefit of the community first.
2. An essential ingredient: a corporate culture open to change
In today's society, increasingly contaminated by concepts such as corporate social responsibility, innovating for a company is vital. But it is not enough.
Internalising and consequently moving from being 'mere' economic actors to also being social actors requires awareness. Forming a double bond with the community of reference is not only a necessity, but a fundamental step.
Indeed, innovation enables companies to grow, but for this to happen, the accompanying mindsets must also change and progress. In some cases, this involves a strong push to change the organisational culture of the company, with the focal point being the willingness to adopt new ideas and experiment with innovative solutions. This process naturally involves all employees in the constant implementation of these changes.
In this context, the creation and nurturing of collaborative networks is of crucial importance. It is evident that when the working environment presents a proactive attitude, every employee will be stimulated to take new paths and embrace change with enthusiasm.
The Shared Innovation can be seen as a more advanced way to initiate long-term strategic collaborations. Compared to Open Innovation, shared innovation embraces both the concept of sustainability and cooperation by aiming at building a network of economic and non-economic actors, who through the integration of different resources are able to create value for each component of the innovation community, formed through these processes. In other words, the creation of mutual value between the various organisations involved is pursued.
It is based on five key principles:
1️⃣ Diversity: an innovation community cannot progress unless it first opens its doors to potential members with background, different histories and cultures, fostering a broadening of perspectives and new points of view;
2️⃣ Interdependence: each member of a community must be aware that mutual exchange and confrontation with the other help them to grow and improve;
3️⃣ Full participation among members: each participant must do their utmost to ensure that the community can thrive and thus bring value to all from multiple angles;
4️⃣ Idea generation and selection: To innovate, one must be able to develop solutions that lead to community growth, choosing those that allow one to move from theory to practice;
5️⃣ Favourable climate for innovation: innovation is only possible if there is a real will to grow at its basis.
In conclusion, innovation is deeply rooted in the social nature of the relationships between individuals and organisations within a network. The balance between strong and weak ties, based on mutual trust, plays a key role in fostering innovation.
It is important to remember that there are no optimal networks, but the coexistence and interaction between organisations with different types of ties can lead to surprising results. By always keeping the focus on the good of the community as a whole and joining forces to pursue common goals, a culture of sharing, listening and collaboration is created that leads to change in the business world.
This new culture fuels creativity and encourages finding innovative and superior solutions, overcoming existing limitations. In this context, innovation breaks free from restrictive boundaries, paving the way for a future where ideas can flourish and contribute to progress in a meaningful way.
