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Module 1: Building the ability to work with people from different communities, disciplines, and functions |
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Michael Wildt, Sandra Hogeforster, Anna-Maria Czarny, Christian Wildt |
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Open innovation requires working with people from outside of your organization. Often these people come from different cultures, backgrounds, and communities. Working with such diverse teams is a crucial component for success in innovative teams. To prevent diverse backgrounds to be an obstacle, certain aspects must be considered. After reading this module the reader will receive an overview of different aspects of cultures, how to work with them, and use diversity as an advantage. In addition, different psychological concepts will be explained that facilitate working in teams and reaching the maximum potential of each co-worker. Certain features of your organizational structure will be questioned. To ensure the success of any open innovation strategy with workers from outside of your company cross-functional teams have to be built and work well together. Lastly, setting the right goals and the right long or short-term focus must be thought through when applying any innovation strategy. Especially when it comes to open innovation strategies supervisors must be ready for new perspectives. The ability to work with people from different communities, disciplines, and functions can be learned or enhanced and is the fundament of any open innovation strategy. |
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Upon completing this module, you should be able to: |
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Cooperation between SMEs and large companies
Fears about working with larger companies:
- smaller businesses may be concerned that a larger company may take their intellectual property. They are hesitant to share their inventions, even if their colleague has the means to assist them. In truth, large corporations are unlikely to steal a fresh concept. Corporations typically throw their weight behind scaling.
- Enterprises may be concerned about a SMEs inexperience. Smaller companies often have a minimum track record. Because of this lack of expertise and trustworthiness, enterprise-SME collaboration is a dangerous undertaking.
- Small business entrepreneurs may be hesitant to be open and honest with their larger business partners. This reluctance might make it difficult for the organization to appropriately assess the feasibility of a product or service. When a firm keeps its cards too close to its chest, it makes it more difficult for larger corporations to judge if the SME is a good investment fit.
How can these fears be overcome?
- Participating in local communities.
Local technology and innovation groups will keep everyone up to date on required processes and protocols while also revealing innovative methods to tackle business challenges.
- Collaborating to meet potential consumers.
Small and big businesses may collaborate to create challenges, events, and chances to meet potential clients.
- Creating innovation accelerators.
The larger corporation may explore establishing or partnering with innovation accelerators in order to provide its start-up partners with extra experience and allow them to advance their solutions.
- Making mentoring possibilities available.
Within the broader corporation, the enterprise may explore developing mentorship opportunities for the start-up. Mentorship connections may help organizations unite while also accelerating the implementation of innovations.
- Creating distinct communication channels.
Above all, both parties must prioritize open, two-way communication throughout the collaboration, both outwardly and internally. Large corporations do not want to look menacing, and start-ups want to be heard. When both parties are transparent and polite in their conversations, success occurs.