Do You Really Need an Internal Innovation Unit?

Submitted by Stefan Lindegaard on May 6, 2011 – 12:05 am

 

by Stefan Lindegaard

Do companies really need internal innovation units in times where industry after industry has begun embracing open or external innovation?
The question was triggered by comments made to a couple of my recent blog posts. It did not take much reflection. Of course, we need internal innovation units as they deliver value by themselves and since they hold key future roles as facilitators and integrators of internal and external contributions.
A quick note on this is that companies need to establish systems and processes that allow and judge internal and external innovation opportunities on equal terms.
So yes, we do need internal innovation units, but it is fair to question what they should look like and what functions they should perform. Things are changing fast on the outside and this need to be reflected on the inside organization and structure as well.