The Innovation Station on why open innovation makes good business sense - the third episode in a new ‘Business Innovation’ podcast series for small business owners by InterTradeIreland
“No matter how good you are, there are lots of other smart people out there. Collaborate with those outside your organisation and make use of their resources and skills to reach your customers.”
That’s the advice from leading expert Nuran Acur, Professor of Innovation Management at Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, on why businesses should collaborate openly with partners and industry, in the latest episode of InterTradeIreland’s ‘Innovation Station’ podcast.
In a masterclass held at NUI Galway, the award-winning scholar unravels the ‘collaboration conundrum’. Her advice for businesses to achieve open innovation success, is to adopt an ‘open-minded approach and culture’ and to combine with ‘internal and external readiness’ - pointing to the importance of SMEs to also collaborate more on their internal processes to help deliver results.
Discussing the business benefits of an open innovation strategy, Nuran says companies should go beyond their comfort zone in order to ‘reap the rewards’ from both potential innovation partners and innovation networks.
“Collaboration allows those who participate to discover new technologies and emerging markets. SMEs shouldn’t be scared or sceptical about open innovation, as bigger companies and multinationals face a similar situation, they also want and need your help.”
Addressing some of the worries businesses might have about open innovation, Nuran explains that businesses don’t have to be ‘100 percent open’ but can adopt a flexible strategy that works for them.
“Businesses shouldn’t worry about losing their identity or their ideas. There are different models of open innovation so pick one or a number of different models that work for you.”
Released fortnightly, the Innovation Station podcast series will feature international thought leaders in the field of innovation, sharing their experiences and insights on how to succeed in the current economic climate.
Each episode is captured live from an InterTradeIreland ‘All-Island Innovation Programme’ masterclass delivered by a world-renowned expert.
Attracting thousands of business leaders, policy makers, students and academics each year, the All-Island Innovation Programme’ series of free masterclasses explores a wide range of topics including upcoming industry trends, management development, as well as the latest thinking in business growth, with the aim of promoting innovation and to encourage cross border cooperation.
Together with Queen’s University Belfast, the National University of Ireland, Galway, University College Cork and Dublin City University the programme promotes and encourages small business owners to innovate by sharing practical advice, as well as international best-practice.
For more information on InterTradeIreland’s ‘All-Island Innovation Programme’ visit: https://intertradeireland.com/innovation/all-island-innovation-programme
