From Closed to Open Innovation: The Evolving Nature of Teams and the Use of Information Technology - Information Technology and Product Development - page 131

partnerships, and commercialize more timely and customer-focused innovations.
A shortened development cycle and time-to-market have firms reconsidering the
benefits of open innovation models.

7.3.1 Guiding Principles and Characteristics

Nambisan and Sawhney (2007) synthesize four complementary guiding princi-
ples practiced by network-centric (or open) innovation collaborators as they move
through the development process (see Table 7.3). These include shared goals, shared
world views, engagement in knowledge creation, and architecture of participation,
all of which set the stage for more effective open innovation.

Table 7.3 Guiding principles of network-centric innovation (adapted from Nambisan &
Sawhney, 2007)

Guiding principles Explanation

Shared goals Complimentary goals, norms, and values facilitating communication

and coordination. A tacit principle which channels co-developers'
skills, knowledge, abilities, and resources.

Shared world view Common assumptions and mental frameworks regarding how the

world operates and internal firm functioning in relationship to the
development of innovation.

Social knowledge
creation

Places emphasis on interaction and forms the basis for value creation
through the synergistic effects of knowledge acquisition,
processing, integration, and application.

Architecture of
participation

Includes roles, responsibilities, task, and communication vehicles
which act as the conduit through which participants will contribute
and be rewarded in a coherent and synchronized manner.

When collaborating organizations embrace shared goals, this facilitates commu-
nication and coordination among external developers. Shared goals form the basis
for the development of shared norms and values and enhance coordination of tasks
and activities. With complementing norms and values, firms engage in more seam-
less communication, engage in a common understanding of how to achieve targeted
goals, and determine mutually agreeable ways of solving conflicts. In open innova-
tion models, firms also have a common understanding of “how the world works”
in terms of industry practices, competitor hierarchy, and competing and support-
ing technologies, and thus are able to respond to external environmental shifts
more rapidly than collaborators without such world views. Accumulated knowl-
edge developed from a common set of experiences forms a shared world outlook
of views and assumptions on how things get done around the world as well as how
things are done within firms. Legitimacy is imbedded in conversations as dialogue
is reduced from why things are done and moves in the direction of how to get things
done rapidly and efficiently. Although information is open to interpretation, it is
very much conditioned by these world views.