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  • 2012
  • Article
  • Journal of Organization Design

Open Innovation and Organization Design

By: Michael Tushman, Karim Lakhani and Hila Lifshitz - Assaf
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Abstract

This paper calls the organization design community to reconcile the divergent scholarly perspectives on the relationship between firm boundaries and the locus of innovation by moving beyond debates between open vs. closed boundaries and instead embracing the notion of complex organizational boundaries where firms simultaneously pursue a range of boundary options that include "closed" vertical integration, strategic alliances with key partners, and "open" boundaries characteristic of various open innovation approaches. The simultaneous pursuit results in organizations that can attend to complex, often internally inconsistent, innovation logics and their structural and process requirements.

Keywords

Organization Design; Open Innovation; Innovation; Locus Of Innovation; Organizational Boundaries; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Innovation and Invention; Alliances; Vertical Integration; Boundaries

Citation

Tushman, Michael, Karim Lakhani, and Hila Lifshitz - Assaf. "Open Innovation and Organization Design." Special Issue on The Future of Organization Design. Journal of Organization Design 1, no. 1 (2012): 24–27. (SSRN's top ten download list for: Organizational Structural Designs, Innovation & Product Development.)
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About The Authors

Michael L. Tushman

Organizational Behavior
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Karim R. Lakhani

Technology and Operations Management
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