Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • January 2010
  • Article
  • Academy of Management Review

Open vs. Closed Innovation: A Model of Discovery and Divergence

By: Esteve Almirall and Ramon Casadesus-Masanell
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:21
ShareBar

Abstract

When is open innovation superior to closed innovation? Through a formal simulation model, we show that an open approach to innovation allows the firm to discover combinations of product features that would be hard to envision under integration. However, when partners have divergent goals, open innovation restricts the firm's ability to establish the product's technological trajectory. The resolution of the trade-off between the benefits of discovery and the costs of divergence determines the best approach to innovation.

Keywords

Innovation and Invention; Partners and Partnerships; Goals and Objectives; Cost vs Benefits; Integration; Product

Citation

Almirall, Esteve, and Ramon Casadesus-Masanell. "Open vs. Closed Innovation: A Model of Discovery and Divergence." Academy of Management Review 35, no. 1 (January 2010): 27–47.
  • Find it at Harvard

About The Author

Ramon Casadesus-Masanell

Strategy
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • November 2022
    • Faculty Research

    HBS Case Video Bosch eBike

    By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell
    • November 2022
    • Faculty Research

    What are the lessons learned to make intrapreneurship successful in a large company

    By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell
    • November 2022
    • Faculty Research

    What are the lessons learned from the e-bike business for other Bosch divisions

    By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell
More from the Authors
  • HBS Case Video Bosch eBike By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell
  • What are the lessons learned to make intrapreneurship successful in a large company By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell
  • What are the lessons learned from the e-bike business for other Bosch divisions By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College