Radical innovation and Open innovation: Creating new growth opportunities for business. Illumination with a case study in the LED industry

"Henry Chesbrough - the Harvard professor and a worldwide expert for Open innovation - has stated that ""most innovations fail. And companies that don’t innovate die."" In Germany only less than 0.5 % ideas pursuing by industrial companies has led to a success. The question being addressed is how companies can drive innovations effectively and efficiently to create new growth opportunities, particularly in this difficult time due to the global economic crisis. These challenges could be captured by driving radical innovations using open innovation methodology. Radical innovations can create new markets and huge growth potential for the business meanwhile breakthrough innovations can be developed faster and cheaper via open innovation approach.
The aim of this study is to provide a deep insight into radical innovation and open innovation management based on a thorough literature research and evaluation. Thereby basic concepts of the both innovation models are explored and compared with other innovation types, e.g. incremental and closed innovations. Moreover, the Christensen’s model of disruptive innovation and Chesbrough’s theory about open innovation are explained into details. In addition, opportunities and challenges as well as managing concept of radical and open innovations are analyzed and illuminated with concrete examples and cases, amongst others the eco-friendly Light Emitting Diode (LED). Beside technology and market breakthroughs, other aspects like future market trend, key success factors and strategies for capturing sustainable growth of disruptive LED technologies in the lighting industry are studied. It could be stated that companies should drive intensively open innovation and boost the outside-in and inside-out processes for creating new breakthroughs in LED technologies. Increased involving customers, suppliers and the outside scientific world into internal R&D, strengthened collaboration within the LED supply chain and intensified out-licensing of own technologies help companies to accelerate the innovation process and create new markets. Besides driving forceful innovation management companies should boost their new product development by exploitation of government supports which have been increased due to the current global climate change problems."