All the talk about "open innovation" and externally-focused innovation assumes that "one size fits all" in terms of what network-centric innovation is and how companies should harness external creativity. But the reality is that there is no one right way to master this tool. For instance, loosely governed community-based innovation projects are a very different animal from tightly-orchestrated development projects driven by a large firm. As the landscape of network-centric innovation becomes more diverse and more confusing, there is a desperate need to structure the landscape to better understand different models for network-centric innovation. This book brings clarity to the confusion. Further, it argues that managers cannot rely on anecdotal success stories they read about in the press to implement a network-centric innovation strategy. They need rigorous and analytical advice on what role their company should play in an innovation network, what capabilities they need to create, and how they need to prepare their organization for this significant shift in the innovation approach. This book offers a practical and detailed roadmap for planning and implementing an externally-focused innovation strategy.
Satish Nambisan is a professor of technology management and strategy at the Lally School of Management, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. He is a globally recognized researcher and thoughtleader in the areas of innovation management and technology strategy, and his recent research work has focused on customer co-innovation, network-centric innovation, and IT-enabled product development. His research has been published in premier management journals such as
Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, Management Science, and Academy of Management Review. Through
his consulting work and executive lectures, Satish has helped many companies in the United States, Singapore, and India in managing innovation and product development. Prior to joining the academia, Satish held executive positions at the consumer-products giant Unilever Plc. in Mumbai, India. More details about his research and consulting are available at www.satish-nambisan.com.
Mohanbir Sawhney is the McCormick Tribune Professor of Technology and the Director of the Center for Research in Technology & Innovation at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. He is a widely published expert in the areas of innovation, marketing, and strategy. He has authored several influential articles in publications like the Harvard Business Review and the MIT Sloan Management Review. His contributions to the literature on innovation include concepts like mediated innovation, community-centric innovation, and collaborative innovation with customers in a networked world. He consults with and advises dozens of Global 2000 companies around the world. This is his fourth book.
