We have all seen, in recent years, the spread of the concept of “Open Innovation”. To try to explain it, let’s start from the opposite concept, the traditional one, albeit outdated, of vertical integration or “closed innovation model”, based on which the innovation activities that lead to the development of new products and services marketed by the company are strictly conducted within the boundaries of the company.

This is the starting point of the process that led the American economist Henry Chesbrough, creator and one of the leading experts in the world of the concept of Open Innovation, to define it as “a widespread innovation process based on the management of incoming or outgoing knowledge flows. by the company created using monetary and non-monetary mechanisms depending on the business model of the company itself. ” According to this model, companies are therefore called upon to turn their attention to the outside and to look outside their own direct perimeter.

Two different directions of Open Innovation can be identified:

• Inside-out, if the ideas and technologies developed internally, but not exploited by the company, are made available to third-party companies wishing to innovate;
• Outside-in, if the company that practices innovation does so using technologies and ideas from outside.

This second model allows companies to access the innovations available on the market by integrating them with their business model, a process that is often convenient both in terms of money and time. Among the fastest and most virtuous systems that allow companies to access Open Innovation, there is precisely the acquisition of startups and SMEs, both innovative and not: in fact, particularly in some markets, think of Pharma or Hi -Tech, innovation is now done in this way.

Very often, if the operation is conducted with the right criteria, the buyer is able to acquire not only the control of the targets with innovative content, but also technologies, skills and experiences of the stakeholders, to ensure not only the continuity of the previous management. , but also to allow one’s own virtuous contamination.

BizPlace can offer support to companies wishing to face an innovation process through the M&A Advisory service. Our contribution takes the form of a 360-degree support that goes from the active search for potential interlocutors, up to the conclusion of the operation.

If you need clarification or want to receive more information, do not hesitate to contact us!

The BizPlace Team