Open Business Models: How to Thrive in the New Innovation Landscape

by Henry Chesbrough, Harvard Business Publishing (Manufactured by)

In his landmark book Open Innovation, Henry Chesbrough demonstrated that because useful knowledge is no longer concentrated in a few large organizations, business leaders must adopt a new, “open” model of innovation. Using this model, companies look outside their boundaries for ideas and intellectual property (IP) they can bring in, as well as license their unutilized home-grown IP to other organizations.

In Open Business Models, Chesbrough takes readers to the next step—explaining how to make money in an open innovation landscape. He provides a diagnostic instrument enabling you to assess your company’s current business model, and explains how to overcome common barriers to creating a more open model. He also offers compelling examples of companies that have developed such models—including Procter & Gamble, IBM, and Air Products.

In addition, Chesbrough introduces a new set of players—“innovation intermediaries”—who facilitate companies’ access to external technologies. He explores the impact of stronger IP protection on intermediate markets for innovation, and profiles firms (such as Intellectual Ventures and Qualcomm) that center their business model on innovation and IP.

This vital resource provides a much-needed road map to connect innovation with IP management, so companies can create and capture value from ideas and technologies—wherever in the world they are found.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Buisness

256 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2006

Reviews

[Lori Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read book on business models for knowledge workers who want to be in executive role and entrepreneurs.

[Greg Bae · Rating 2 out of 5]

Horribly dated and hasn’t aged well. Not even a single mention of APIs? Not only is the scope too narrow, it’s not even the right focal points for true open innovation in 2021.

[Firecooked · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book seemed to suffer the fate of most sequels: it was not nearly as good as the first one. The 1st half (or more) of the book was a regurgitation of the first book, and not nearly as interesting. The best part of the book is looking at business models, including pro’s and con’s of various models depending on the business, along with good examples of things that worked and failed (which are generally more educational!). The last section was on IP-Enabled businesses, including Qualcomm and Intellectual Ventures. I expected the case studies to be interesting, and they just weren’t. Also included was a company called UTEK, for which Chesbrough is an advisor, which was not disclosed. Overall, not nearly as strong as either his first book or several others in the genre, and I am really turned off by the lack of disclosure.