Pillars Of Innovation Research Articles

How digital transformation shapes European union countries’ national systems of innovation: A configurational moderation approach

Digital transformation is changing the innovation landscape, not only of firms but also at the macro level. This study aims to analyse how configurations of European Union countries’ innovation inputs that lead to innovation outputs are affected by the levels of national digital transformation. A novel configurational moderation approach is adopted to assess the impact of digital transformation on the 27 EU countries’ national systems of innovation (NSI). Results showed that the presence of all innovation inputs is a sufficient configuration for the presence of high innovation outputs, while three different configurations were found to be sufficient for its absence. The configurational moderation analysis revealed that digital transformation effectively moderates the arrangement of innovation inputs leading to the presence of high innovation outputs, where the human capital and research pillar loses its importance. The results of this study can be understood as benchmarks, against which less innovative countries may compare and develop their NSI. They also shed light on the specific configurations followed by each EU country in achieving innovation outputs, which could be an input for Union-based policies directed at the development of concrete innovation pillars in specific Member States. Furthermore, findings enlighten international business managers about the strengths and weaknesses of EU countries’ NSI, which may aid them in their internationalisation decisions.

IMPACT OF INNOVATION ON ECONOMIC GROWTH IN BALKAN COUNTRIES

Innovation plays a crucial role in the daily activities of economic units and its impact extends to the macroeconomic level as well. After the last pandemic, firms and even nations are aiming to adopt the new reality. They are employing advanced technology to develop innovative products and approaches for customers and markets. This study analyzes the impact of innovation on economic growth in Balkan Countries by using annual data for the period between 2011 and 2022. This study uses the individual pillars of the Global Innovation Index as the explanatory variables of GDP Growth rate. Through a panel data analysis, the findings of the study suggest that creative output and infrastructure have a positive significant effect on the GDP growth rate, while the effect of institutions is negative. The test employed failed to prove any impact of other pillars of innovation on economic growth meaning that the impact of other pillars is still insignificant. The findings of this study may serve policymakers to work on the direction of enhancing the impact of all innovation pillars on the economic growth rate.

A bibliometric analysis of trends in the relationship between innovation and food

PurposeFood-related innovations might contribute to a qualitative leap in the transition to sustainable food systems. In this article, the authors map the existing literature on food and innovation in order to identify and systematise major research streams and relate them to current discussions on sustainability. The authors rely on a broad definition of innovation covering specific technological innovations as well as social, environmental and system innovations.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analysed the relationship between innovation and food through bibliometric and content analysis, augmented with visualisation based on data (N = 7,987) extracted from the Web of Science. The published volume, research areas and influential journals were investigated using descriptive analyses.FindingsThis review categorises the literature on innovation and food into six main clusters, showing that most of the studies are carried out at the macro-level related to the global sustainable food systems. Network visualisation allowed them to distribute recent keywords associated with innovation across the agri-food value chain. Moreover, the authors identified environmental, social and economic pillars of innovation, which not only relate to sustainability but also are associated with open innovation as well as social innovation and eco-innovation.Originality/valueThis bibliometric analysis is amongst the first to examine the holistic knowledge structure surrounding a triple concept of innovation, food and sustainability. In addition, the study identifies research gaps and indicates new research directions, which add further value.

Reconnoitering LGU’s Potential as a Creative Innovation Center of Nueva Vizcaya Using CMCI

The Philippine Creative Industries Development Act (PCIDA) has identified the promotion of creative hubs and clusters as a key strategy to develop and support Philippine Creative Cities. This study assessed the potential of local government units (LGUs) in the province of Nueva Vizcaya to serve as creative innovation centers, utilizing the 2022 and 2023 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) results, with the purpose of developing strategic actions to assist the LGUs in strengthening their potential and promoting stronger linkages and collaborations among stakeholders in the creative industries and the government. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative techniques. Percentile ranking was used to obtain the sum scores of the five main CMCI pillars – economic dynamism, government efficiency, infrastructure, resiliency, and innovation – to visualize the LGUs’ potential as creative innovation centers, with the 50th percentile serving as the benchmark. Comparative analysis was also performed to evaluate the potential of the LGUs as creative innovation centers in the province and determine their respective strengths and weaknesses. The results showed that the municipality of Bayombong is considered the potential LGU for a creative innovation center. The province of Nueva Vizcaya presented more strengths in the resiliency and innovation pillars, but more weaknesses were seen in the infrastructure pillar. Based on these findings, the researchers crafted proposed strategic actions to enhance the LGUs’ potential as creative innovation centers.

Advancing the care of individuals with cancer through innovation & technology: Proceedings from the cardiology oncology innovation summit 2020 and 2021

As cancer therapies increase in effectiveness and patients' life expectancies improve, balancing oncologic efficacy while reducing acute and long-term cardiovascular toxicities has become of paramount importance. To address this pressing need, the Cardiology Oncology Innovation Network (COIN) was formed to bring together domain experts with the overarching goal of collaboratively investigating, applying, and educating widely on various forms of innovation to improve the quality of life and cardiovascular healthcare of patients undergoing and surviving cancer therapies. The COIN mission pillars of innovation, collaboration, and education have been implemented with cross-collaboration among academic institutions, private and public establishments, and industry and technology companies. In this report, we summarize proceedings from the first two annual COIN summits (inaugural in 2020 and subsequent in 2021) including educational sessions on technological innovations for establishing best practices and aligning resources. Herein, we highlight emerging areas for innovation and defining unmet needs to further improve the outcome for cancer patients and survivors of all ages. Additionally, we provide actionable suggestions for advancing innovation, collaboration, and education in cardio-oncology in the digital era.

The Intersections of Innovation

To unlock the power of creativity and innovation, it is very important to engage the entire in- novation ecosystem so that the full potential can be unveiled. These collaborative intersectional spaces between different disciplines — academia-industry, faculty-administration, and faculty-students — can open new dimensions for creative excellence, and thus, such intersectional spaces need to be created and nurtured. To this end, here, the pillars of innovation: creativity, motivation, ecosystem, and support, are discussed and their impacts on generating innovations are presented. While existing challenges in the academic setting are acknowledged, the role of faculty and the technology transfer offices and their positive interactions have a very critical role in the success of generating impactful innovations and their transfer to commercialization. In addition to the pillars of innovation, diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice are crucial components for creating impactful and sustainable innovations. Embracing diversity in all its forms, providing equitable opportunities for all, fostering an inclusive environment, and ensuring justice for all members of the ecosystem can lead to a broad range of perspectives and ideas, ultimately resulting in more creative and impactful solutions to the current and future challenges of the 21st century.

Innovative solutions for disease management

The increasing prevalence of chronic diseases is a driver for emerging big data technologies for healthcare including digital platforms for data collection, systems for active patient engagement and education, therapy specific predictive models, optimized patient pathway models. Powerful bioelectronic medicine tools for data collection, analysis and visualization allow for joint processing of large volumes of heterogeneous data, which in turn can produce new insights about patient outcomes and alternative interpretations of clinical patterns that can lead to implementation of optimized clinical decisions and clinical patient pathway by healthcare professionals.With this perspective, we identify innovative solutions for disease management and evaluate their impact on patients, payers and society, by analyzing their impact in terms of clinical outcomes (effectiveness, safety, and quality of life) and economic outcomes (cost-effectiveness, savings, and productivity).As a result, we propose a new approach based on the main pillars of innovation in the disease management area, i.e. progressive patient care models, patient-centric approaches, bioelectronics for precise medicine, and lean management that, combined with an increase in appropriate private-public-citizen-partnership, leads towards Patient-Centric Healthcare.

Public Health Service Management is Characterized by 3 Pillars of Innovation

Traditional political science and public administration literature have long held the belief that the innovation in public service management is primarily contingent on the level of financial resources available. However, recent developments in China challenge this assumption, as they raise questions about why certain regions, despite having limited financial resources, are selected as pilot areas for "treatment first" reforms, and why some of these less affluent regions demonstrate superior implementation of specific pilot measures compared to their wealthier counterparts in the eastern regions. This article introduces a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding the innovation in public service management, positing a three-pronged approach that considers the interplay of finance, supply-side factors, and demand-side dynamics. It argues that the innovation in public service management within a given region is the result of a complex interaction among these three key elements. Drawing on empirical data, this article conducts a comparative analysis of the factors influencing "treatment first" reforms in four distinct regions of China: Wuhan, Shanxi, Chongqing, and Hunan. By exploring the unique dynamics at play in each of these regions, the study sheds light on the nuanced relationship between finance, public service supply, and demand. Additionally, it elucidates how these factors jointly determine the success and trajectory of public service management innovation in different locales, challenging conventional wisdom and providing valuable insights into the contemporary governance landscape in China.

Efficacy of the WIPO Global Innovation Index as a Driver of Innovation: Analysis of GII Data for the ten ASEAN Economies

There is a worldwide trend to take account of the WIPO Global Innovation Index (GII) when driving the innovation potential of national economies at a high level as well as at the micro level to encourage local industries. Analysis of the background data shows that such approaches might be misplaced. This study is an in-depth analysis of the underlying GII data of the ten ASEAN economies to determine each economy’s patterns, strengths, and weaknesses. The literature guides which pillars and sub-pillars for innovation should be assessed. Analysis should keep at the front of mind that developing nations have significantly differentiated institutional structures, so policy measures from one system cannot be simply taken from one jurisdiction and applied to another. Assessing the components of the seven innovation pillars used by WIPO to develop the annual GIIs shows that a number of the components cannot be improved over the short term. Hence, they will have limited effect on improving the innovation potential of a particular industry. In other words, there is a need to drill down into the data and identify areas for focus to improve innovation potential in both short and medium terms. Simply focussing on the components and pillars that will have the most significant impact on improving the GII is a fool’s errand as it may have a limited impact on innovation output. The paper explore the GII rankings at the component level of each of the ten economies: one is developed, six are developing, and three are least developed, according to United Nations criteria. Some components can only be improved at the government level, whilst others can be improved at the industry level. Strategies will then be presented on how industries can improve their innovation potential and hence improve the nation’s potential.

Validation of automotive centrals using hardware in the loop -BCM and Lights

The race for electrification and the need for innovation to attract customers has driven the automotive industry to do something different in vehicles, emerging emission control challenges and efficient technological availability are the pillars of innovation. With the need to upgrade industrial manufacturing systems, directly impacting vehicle production, established the search for new prototyping methodologies and use of virtual tools for testing, validation of components and vehicle systems are developed. The demand for electronic components controls units (ECU) is growing, due to the availability of intelligence and security in today's vehicles, directly impacting their development and the performance and functionality tests. To meet this new reality, in addition to the automotive test prototypes used during development, the automotive industry has been using different virtual environments to produce, verify, and validate its vehicles. Therefore, this paper applied integration and validation using the HIL test platform, focusing on the ECU Body Control Unit (BCM), analyzing its functionalities and possible failures of the internal and external light loads. After, a brief commentary will be made exposing other test medium platforms given as the Plywood Buck (PWB), checking the reliability, flexibility, installation time, and costs of the three test platforms Software in the loop (SIL), Model in the loop (MIL) , Hardware in the loop (HIL), in order to verify their advantages, challenges, and problems in the use and information to optimize the use of each platform and test medium.

Educational management as a driver of scientific and technological research: New horizons for innovation

Educational management is interpreted indistinctly as the organizational managerial activity most closely related to its actions. However, educational management is not limited only to considering technical and methodological aspects. Education aims at the integral formation of the individual, and someone is educated in order to achieve a purpose. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the needs of all those who belong to and are involved in the educational institution from its own management. It is well known that technological innovation plays an increasingly important role as a factor of competitiveness for companies. The word "innovation" is constantly used as a synonym for progress, technological development, job creation and improvement of living conditions. Innovation is spoken of in the economic (e.g. technological innovation in companies) and social spheres (in areas such as healthcare, leisure, working conditions and transportation, among others). In this sense, the general objective of the research is to explain the influence of educational management on scientific and technological research, the pillars of innovation. From a methodological point of view, a documentary review is carried out on future projections within the framework of these variables, in order to integrate diverse experiences and models, taking as a reference the results obtained. It is concluded that all these changes are generating new forms of work and new economic scenarios, in which the keys to creating employment and improving the quality of life are based on innovative ideas applied to new products, processes and services

A conceptual model and case study of blockchain-enabled social media platform

Nowadays, with the emergence of Web 3.0 and the metaverse, we collectively witnessed the explosive development of the decentralised autonomous organisation and the blockchain business model. Particularly, the advancement of technologies has further given birth to a novel form of social platform as blockchain-enabled social media (i.e., SocialFi), which is growing both in size and number of users. Accordingly, the rapid development of these blockchain-enabled social media firms illustrates the requirement to better understand the reasons behind this increase and the innovative practices and strategies of firms in this emerging field. Using the case of Pixie – the world’s first fully functional decentralised photo and video sharing social network based on blockchain technology, this insight paper identifies a conceptual model of blockchain-enabled social media that is useful for illustrating the successful business strategy and operations of firms. Particularly, the identified model employs four pillars of innovation as fundamental technologies, governance and operations, incentive mechanism design, and organisational structure and performance. Based on this crypto economy social media model, the study further presents the main challenges, discusses the implications based on agency theory, as well as highlights several directions for future research associated with blockchain-enabled social media.

Traces of the Iron Curtain: A multivariate analysis of regional cohesion in Europe

The present study aims to test relative welfare differences among regions in Europe, so as to examine whether the post-communist era has led to more socio-economic cohesion in Europe. The performance of European regions is analysed, compared, and assessed by using the Regional Competitiveness Index (RCI) and stylised fixed nominal categories. The current status of regional cohesion is tested on the basis of detailed data on 268 NUTS 2 European regions by using a robust methodology oriented towards univariate comparison of location parameters, multivariate classification by the decision tree and CHAID algorithm, and comparison of nominal variables with four values based on density plots.Multivariate classification appears to offer statistically excellent results with an overall correct prediction rate for post-socialist and capitalist regions in Europe of 99.6%. The research results from the Higher education and Innovation pillars, reveal a convergence of capitalist and post-socialist regions with capital cities and a divergence of regions with administrative capitals and other regions. Relatively, the two groups which perform best are both groups with capitals, while the group of capitalist regions with a capital city is significantly better in almost all pillars.The key message is that the transition of post-socialist regions is not yet over. Capitalist regions in Europe perform better than post-socialist regions in eight of the nine pillars of regional competitiveness. Our research results also reveal that the group of post-socialist regions without capital cities are significantly lagging behind the rest of the regions in Europe, and thus form the most vulnerable group of European regions. As there is data continuity in the official RCI classification and measurement, policy makers will be able to compare the performance of their own regions over time and to design appropriate concerted strategies accordingly. From this perspective, our study draws several interesting lessons and results for policy makers at various levels. Place-based regional planning and policy based on our analysis framework may be helpful in developing effective measures to cope with the socio-economic legacy of the “Iron Curtain” and get closer to regional cohesion in Europe.

Entrepreneurial Innovations in Countries at Different Stages of Development

The aim of our paper is to provide a comprehensive picture of the role of innovation within the entrepreneurial ecosystem in certain countries. In this way, we propose the following research question as to what kind of interrelatedness can be observed between the innovation capability of a country and other elements of its entrepreneurial ecosystem. Ninety-five countries have been involved in our analysis, which initially have been grouped by their level of economic development and a group of transition countries has been created as well. In order to measure these relations, the Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI) was applied. This index measures the qualitative aspects of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in a national context. The index consists of fourteen pillars covering the relevant aspects of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Out of the pillars, there are three pillars associated with three different aspects of innovation: Technology Absorption, Product Innovation, and Process Innovation. After analyzing the pillars, we conducted a k-means cluster analysis in order to demonstrate whether countries with the same level of development are ranked in a common group if they are clustered by the values of the three innovation pillars. Our results suggest that the quality of the entrepreneurial ecosystem reflects the level of economic development. Regarding the role of innovation, it seems that the innovation-related pillars have an important role within the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Technology Absorption is highly related to the GEI score and the level of economic development since the most developed countries have the highest values for this pillar. While the Product and Process Innovation pillars have a relatively strong relationship with GEI score as well, it seems that a couple of countries have higher pillar values in these innovation-related pillars than the position of their GEI scores would lead one to expect. This may indicate that these countries have relatively good performance in research and development, but other components of their entrepreneurial ecosystem may hamper the exploitation of the results achieved by new firms.

Small- and medium-sized enterprises’ knowledge management systems as edifiers of new value innovations

Background: New value innovations are organically ingrained and complementary to the process of knowledge management. However, epistemological trends highlight only limited studies to have explored how the effectiveness of knowledge management leverages new value innovations.Objectives: This research evaluates how the effectiveness of the small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) knowledge management systems enhance new value innovations so as to identify the major paradoxes and a business model that coherently integrates knowledge management with new value innovations.Method: Using a qualitative research method, semi-structured interviews were used to explore the opinions of 20 purposively sampled managers from 20 SMEs on how knowledge management edifies new value innovations.Results: A strong culture of information utilisation was found to enhance relevant analysis and identification of new gaps in the markets that must be filled through new value innovations or modifications of the existing products. However, poor culture of knowledge utilisation, cost of knowledge management and the often poorly functional business information systems were still reiterated as major paradoxes hampering effective knowledge management as one of the determinants of new value innovations.Conclusion: The study concluded with a model highlighting a continuum of knowledge management–new value innovation pillars like a strong culture of information utilisation, and encouragement of creativity that the executives must consider to create an effective knowledge management foundation that subsequently leverages the overall effectiveness of new value innovations.

Book Reviews

Jan Fagerberg of the University of Oslo reviews “The Politics of Innovation: Why Some Countries Are Better Than Others at Science and Technology,” by Mark Zachary Taylor. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Examines the varying levels of success among nations in supporting successful innovation in science and technology and explores methods the United States could use to prevent or postpone its fall into technological stagnation and scientific irrelevance by attempting to solve the mystery behind Cardwell's Law. Introduces a new theory of “creative insecurity.” Discusses the puzzle of Cardwell's Law--why some countries are better than others at science and technology; measuring the black box--working definitions and boundaries, and measuring innovation and data; Cardwell's Law in action; whether technology needs government--the five pillars of innovation; why nations fail--capitalism, democracy, and decentralization; how nations succeed--networks, clusters, and standards; technological losers and political resistance to innovation; creative insecurity--Mancur Olson's nemesis; critical cases of creative insecurity; and creative insecurity and its implications.”

The Entrepreneurial Rise in Southeast Asia: The Quadruple Helix Influence on Technological Innovation

1. Entrepreneurial Rise and Technological Innovation in Southeast Asia Stavros Sindakis PART I: REGIONAL INNOVATIVE CAPACITY AND NEW BUSINESS CREATION 2. Innovation Strategies of New Product Development (NPD) Preecha Chaochotechuang, Farhad Daneshgar, Stavros Sindakis 3. Entrepreneurship in Singapore David Gomulya, Olexander Chernyshenko, Marilyn Ang Uy, Wong Lun Kai Francis, Ho Moon-Ho Ringo, Chan Kim Yin, He Lu Calvin Ong PART II: WEALTH CREATION AND ENTREPRENEURIAL FINANCING IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 4. Entrepreneurial Financing of the Asian Emerging Countries Jarunee Wonglimpiyarat 5. Financing Technology Ventures Wilton Chau PART III: HUMAN CAPITAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL ASPECTS OF INNOVATION 6. Entrepreneurship and the Human Capital of Organizational Innovation Sharn Orchard 7. Intellectual Capital in Southeast Asia G. Scott Erickson 8. An Entrepreneurial Approach to Human Resource Management in the Public Sector Lina Vyas 9. Current Practices, Perceived Innovation Enablers, and Barriers Audrey Depeige, Stavros Sindakis PART IV: THE ROLE OF KNOWLEDGE AND INNOVATION IN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT 10. Role of Business Plan Competitions in Promoting Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Southeast Asian Region Adith Cheosakul 11. Digital Growth in the ASEAN Educational Community to Further Innovation and Scholarship Willard G. Van De Bogart 12. Evolving from The Triple Helix Irene YH Fan PART V: INNOVATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN ASIA 13. Environmental Threats and their Effects on the Innovation Landscape in Thailand Stefania Paladini, Eleni Anoyrkati 14. Environmental Protection and Pollution Management in China Yiu Fai Tsang CONCLUSION 15. Reinforcing the Five Pillars of Innovation in Southeast Asia Christian Walter

Analyzing Corporate Social Entrepreneurship Specific to Knowledge Economy with a Focus on the Romanian Economic Context

The knowledge economy is defined, according to the World Bank, through the integration of its four main component elements: education and training, innovation systems, information infrastructure, economic incentives and institutional regime. The first part of the paper reconciles knowledge economy and corporate social entrepreneurship, while the second part focuses on the education and training, and innovation pillars of the knowledge economy, and more specifically it resorts to the framework of corporate social entrepreneurship as a transformational innovation strategy for company growth. The current investigation has been conducted by means of case study method having the following research question: “How does corporate social entrepreneurship manifest in corporations?”., accompanied by secondary research questions such as: “How does the company mobilize its resources to create an innovative product/ service/ approach in order to tackle the social issue?, How does the company contribute to local development?”. The findings revealed that the social issue of high levels of nitrates in the waters inspired the company to combine a testing tool (technological innovation) with marketing communication which eventually resulted in an innovative approach for the company to increase the loyalty of their customers and to reach out for new ones. The present paper has been developed based on the author’s doctoral research.

The Role of Imitation in Global High-Tech Product Development

Innovation is historically linked to the creation of large departments of Research & Development (R&D) that require large investments in assets. With markets globalization, the department of R&D remains one of the pillars of innovation, but it needs a rethinking of the management. The new R&D department needs to change by a vision of closing within the corporate boundaries to an opening view to the outside. Product development is carried out through several conducts taken by companies ranging from Reverse R&D processes to collaborations with direct competitors for the sharing of risks and knowledge. Generally, and more precisely in high-tech industry, technological advancements and the ability to develop fast-cycle processes by followers are generating an abatement of the timely barriers that allowed first movers to maintain competitive advantages; so, in global markets, the management of imitative strategies becomes of primary importance.

How Air Products and Chemicals “Identifies and Accelerates”

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., the world's only combined gases and chemicals company, operates in over 30 countries, serving customers in the technology, energy, healthcare, and industrial markets. More than half of the company's $8.2 billion 2005 sales came from outside the United States, and external technology has long been of great importance to us. Prior to 1995, external technology partnering was conducted by each business area and the supporting RD this was the beginning of our effort. Open innovation is a technology management practice in which external resources are used to supplement a company's internal R&D and commercialization effort. The output of the innovation, when not aligned with the company's strategy or businesses, is used to license out or to spinoff ventures. The practice is the subject of Henry Chesbrough's 2003 book. Open Innovation (1). Why is there a trend toward an open innovation model? There are many driving forces, of which some of the more notable are: * Increased pressure for faster, improved and lower-cost R&D. * Realization that no company has more than 1 percent of global R&D capacity (2). * Reduced inflow of scientific talent to the United States (3). * The rest of the world has surpassed the U.S. in science education as evidenced by annual doctorate degrees granted (3). A recent article from Booz Allen Hamilton recognized open innovation as one of the three pillars of innovation and coined it, Don't Do It All Yourself (4). In this paper, we describe some key elements of the Air Products process for open innovation, Identify and Accelerate. Specifically, we shall review the process of identifying corporate technical needs and the role of external partnering to accelerate the innovation process. The external partnering strategies reviewed are: global R&D insourcing, Internet-based providers, partnering with the government, and licensing-in. We are also active with university R&D alliances and minority equity investments with start-ups, but these practices have been well covered by previous articles and are excluded from the scope of this article. Needs Identification It is imperative to quantify the top needs/problems in order to focus the open innovation efforts. We have initiated a process corporate-wide to quantify and prioritize the top technical needs: * Solicit top needs from business, marketing and technology organizations using a common problem/needs format. * Rank-order needs that make the first cut by a specific set of criteria based on financials, risks, strategy alignment, etc. * Senior business and technology management review and approve top needs. Top needs are then used to broaden exposure of the needs internally and to focus the identification of external resources to meet those needs. Technology needs are also posted on our internal corporate web site. A new system, called Needs Tracker, has been introduced as a means of identifying and logging emerging internal needs. This tool is available to all employees to identify and post their technical needs. Employees can also propose solutions to the posted needs. Figure 1 is a screen shot from this new IT tool. Partnering Strategies Partnering is the cornerstone of open innovation. Although partnering also includes alliances with internal groups globally, the main focus here is on external groups. Partnering with external groups spans a wide spectrum of options as indicated in Figure 2. …