1.2 Objective & research questions

V 0.2 / 03-07-09

Previous paragraph: introduction open innovation & business models

To search for and create new and successful open innovation practices, one should first design the underlying open innovation business models. By doing this, organizations will clarify the purpose of such open practices, helping them to look for the best ways to create and capture value. For many organizations however, the act of developing such open models is unclear. This leads to the objective and research question of this thesis.

Objective

The objective of this report is to

create a roadmap (/guidelines) for organizations to effectively
design successful open innovation business models/practices.

A business model perspective is used to ease and clarify the process for companies to (re)design their innovation processes towards (more) successful open practices. The report is written for managers/directors who would like to implement open innovation practices and need guidance in the design of open business models.

Research questions

The focus on designing open innovation practices successfully within and/or by companies led to the following main research question:

How can organizations design successful
open innovation business models?

To find an answer to the main research question, several related concepts have to be studied. Therefore, the main research question is divided into the following parts:

What are successful open innovation practices?

A1. What is the goal of open innovation?
A2. How can different open innovation practices be categorized?
A3. How does one define success in open innovation practices?
A4. What are the critical success factors for the design and implementation of open innovation practices?

How does business model theory relate to
successful open innovation practices?

B1. What are the different elements of a business model?
B2. How do the different elements of a business model relate to successful open innovation practices?

How can business model theory be used
to design open innovation practices?

C1. How can business models be designed?
C2. Which steps are necessary to design a successful open innovation business model? (roadmap)

Next paragraph: Scope & limitations