Companies such as Procter & Gamble, Cisco Systems, Genzyme, General Electric and Intel is often credited with having achieved market leadership through open innovation strategy. When you click on and exploitation of technological knowledge, who lived outside of their R & D structure, the company beat the competition. But while the others try to follow their example, this study shows that many of them, not because they neglect to outside ideas to reach the people best equipped to use them. R & D leaders need to think not only about brushing the outside world for new and potentially useful ideas, but also on how to ensure that these ideas are taken seriously. By understanding the role of the two types of innovation brokers - "the idea of spies" and "idea connectors" in the open innovation process, and use their talents effectively, managers can preside over a significant improvement in the transformation of external knowledge in a successful outcome. The authors provide numerous examples, noting that success in open innovation depends on the availability of both types of innovation brokers. But, despite these innovations brokers'importance organization, the people who wound up as the idea of scouts and connectors are often came as a surprise to management. Innovation is too important to be left to chance, however. If there is no innovation brokers, management must "invent" them, that is to recruit the right people for the valuable roles. "Hide
by Eoin Whelan, Salvatore Parise, Jasper de Valk, Rick Aalbers Source: MIT Sloan Management Review 8 pages. Publication Date: 01 Oct 2011. Prod. #: SMR399-PDF-ENG