Management of Outsourcing RD in the Era of Open Innovation

摘要

Outsourcing R&D, a new wave of open innovation, is a double-edged sword that can be either a threat or an opportunity to companies which have strong core competences. How far a company should go in outsourcing R&D has perplexed many practitioners, particularly those in the Consumer Electronics industry where key elements of core competences are core technologies. This study compares the statements in literature with practice. Through investigation of two representative cases, we have found that if technology leadership is the core competence, outsourcing R&D is viable only if it serves to fill the gaps of overall technology portfolio. Even if core competences lie in expertise of activities other than R&D, orchestrating the whole process of R&D is still strongly recommended.