Leadership Skills for Inbound and Outbound Open Innovation

Abstract

Abstract This chapter explores the different cognitive demands imposed on innovation leaders by both inbound and outbound open innovation. Open Innovation (OI) offers leaders a context characterized by a broad range of possible sources of knowledge and ideas. OI leaders must continuously scan and select useful ideas and collaborators from an ever-increasing pool of potentially relevant insights generated inside and outside their firm. Equally difficult and perhaps even more so, they also need to decide when to let those ideas or people go, and when to help them grow outside. The chapter discusses the individual and organizational skills and resources required to lead both inbound and outbound OI initiatives. In so doing, first, it aims at rebalancing attention from inbound to outbound OI processes. These latter are also important and yet remain understudied. Second, it suggests care in attributing OI leaders near super-human cognitive skills. OI is an approach that requires very heterogeneous and demanding skills: OI leaders have to learn how to recognize them in their teams, support their development, and flexibly leverage them to shift between inbound and outbound OI.