Eps 2: Open innovation versus combinatorial innovation in data driven environments
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Jordan Morrison
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The end result is to combine proven ideas to solve prefabricated applications in a creative, functional, practical and agile way. What both approaches have in common is that both strategies advance with insights supplied by analysis tools that are in close proximity. To put it in academic terms: There are two types of combinatorial innovations: open source and proprietary.
In this article, however, we examine four approaches to developing ground-breaking strategies. We are inspired more by how our thought process works than by what already exists or how industry or business model is structured. That is why it can help strategists ensure that they really invent new business methods.
It is therefore worth noting that innovation and recombination of ideas are not new, not only to us. One of the earliest I have found the term "combinatorial innovation" is a speech of 8 May 2001, elaborated in more detail in an essay entitled "Innovation and Components and Supplements." In it, Varian writes, "Every now and then, there comes along a technology or set of technologies that provides components that can be combined or recombined to create a new product.
Joseph Schumpeter, who wrote the theory of economic development in 1934, was quoted in a section entitled "Development and production of new combinations" in the section "Innovation and components and additions" of his book.
History-lovers will look back on 1870 as the beginning of the period in which the US became the world's dominant economy and the invention system that historians have called the "American invention system" began to merge. The patent system itself was an innovation, and in the first decade almost all inventions brought to the attention of the patent office represented new technologies. In the mid-19th century, we experienced an extraordinary patent storm: inventors rushed to turn existing technologies into patented inventions. As the inventor historian observed: "Inventors simultaneously invaded patent rights and turned existing technology inventories into patents.
All of this came together in a way and intensity that has never been seen before, and it came together at a time of great economic and political importance.
At any given time, the existing set of technological capabilities is essentially a description of our current technological capabilities. As is evident with patented inventions, technological novelties can arise from the combination of existing capabilities in a way that was not previously found in the patent protocol.
In the case of a new patent application, the patent examiner must decide whether an existing code or a combination of existing codes is used separately to describe the technological components of the proposed invention and whether a new code is required to detect the novelty of the invention. Previous patents may have embodied newly discovered technological capabilities, but not new technological innovations.
The other types are designs granted for ornamental designs of functional objects and plant patents that grant new varieties of plant seeds. Business methods, computer programs and algorithms can be patented, although most patents are granted only for inventions involving machines or conversions of one physical substance into another. Patents should be limited to only one invention consisting of two or more integrated technologies, such as computers and computers, acting together and performing a specific task, a principle of unity of invention known in patent law.
We have found that combination technologies are an important driver of modern inventions, which is reflected in the number of new combinations of technologies produced by patented inventions. The exponential growth of the inventions reported here is consistent with the growth of the patent technology code, which is also characterized by the exponential growls of the inventions in data media. Combinatorial inventions that have been systematically and empirically investigated are those that use the technology code of the patent to identify different technologies and their combinations.
Traditional innovations use a funnel process that allows the selection of the most attractive ideas and is then developed and prototyped. The risk is lower due to the connection with the outside world, technological development is faster and external contributions increase the number of ideas received in the open innovation model. Today, many companies around the world have adopted open innovation to accelerate the innovation cycle, reduce risks, and do more with less.
The application of the open model in the initial phase of a project has advantages for the innovation team, but what about the long-term benefits?
Open Innovation is the practice of integrating external expertise into the innovation process of a company or an organization. One of the key benefits of implementing an open innovation strategy is that companies can use external ideas, resources and market channels to drive their own technologies and products. By combining the expertise of internal and external partners and external experts, the technological capabilities and competitiveness of the industry can be improved.