HEINEKEN Open Innovation

Abstract

The high speed at which innovations nowadays succeed each other calls for a different approach towards innovation in order to stay ahead of competition. Open Innovation; the purposive use of in- and outflows of knowledge to accelerate internal innovation and expand the markets for external use of innovation, has therefore widely been adopted in many different industries. It allows for leveraging capabilities outside the company in order to enhance and accelerate innovation activities and consequently deliver more highly innovative products and services, faster. HEINEKEN has also acknowledged the value of Open Innovation (OI) and has made it one of the key strategic pillars for the company in the coming years. In order to properly leverage Open Innovation, the wide variety of opportunities and various possible collaborative partners need to be explored. This report contributes to this exploration by looking into how win-win relationships can be established between corporates and young ventures. Young ventures, a category name for both start-up and scale-up companies, are considered to be a very interesting target group as they are often at the forefront of (technology) innovation. However, the significant difference in size is expected to reflect in a difference in benefits, needs and approaches in relationships between corporates such as HEINEKEN and young ventures. Bridging the gap between corporates and young ventures is therefore the focus of this project, in order to define a way to creating win-win alliances. Furthermore, providing a structured approach towards these alliances was desired and resulted in the following assignment: Design a framework for scouting and setting up win-win OI relationships for HEINEKEN and its potential partners, using knowledge and experiences from corporates and young ventures. A deep dive into theory and practice by means of literature studies and semi-structured interviews with corporates and companies in the start-up and scale-up environment has resulted in a rich amount of data and insights. These insights were structured using the Want, Find, Get, Manage model by Slowinski (2005), which identifies four main steps in setting up OI collaborations. The need for a thorough want-phase was identified as a key driver in setting up a focused and efficient approach. Elaborating on the desired capabilities of a prospected partner was deemed key in defining the aptitude of young ventures as a partner. The type of project and desired content furthermore define in which channels are considered most fitting to scout for young ventures in the Find phase. In the consecutive Get phase it is key to focus on creating mutual value between the two partiers. In aligning objectives the impact on young ventures of certain things like exclusivity agreements should be considered. Regular revisions of the agreement are necessary in order to keep agreements aligned with the volatile project scope. Furthermore, many issues can to be attributed to a significant difference in company-culture. The strategy-driven corporate has an entirely different way of working compared to the opportunity-driven young venture, often resulting in miscommunication, misinformation and a lack of understanding between the two parties. These cultural differences should be identified during the deal-making phase and should be continuously managed throughout the collaboration. By applying best practices from the young venture’s way of working to the corporate practices, a higher level of understanding is created between the two parties. Furthermore, doing this is likely to have a positive impact on innovation practices within the corporate. The framework proposed in this report addresses the main issues that impact OI relationships between corporates and young ventures. Furthermore, it offers a focused approach by proposing steps in identifying needs, objectives and proposing the appropriate channels to scout for young ventures. Additionally, it offers a guideline in setting up and managing relationships with young ventures from a corporate perspective. The framework is tailored to fit HEINEKEN’s Global Innovation Process, which makes it easy to understand and implement in innovation practices within the company. An insight that is elaborated on is the need for knowledge management of the personal networks of individuals within the company. Many relations seem to be drawn from personal networks that are intangible and undocumented. Providing insight into the vast amount of connections that exist throughout all individual networks collectively allows for a more efficient process in searching for suitable project partners. A smartphone application is proposed to facilitate easy documentation of contacts, which is shared between selected scouts within the company. This app hereby answers a need in the Find phase of the OI process and supports the purpose of the presented framework: a focused and efficient scouting approach towards win-win relationships with young ventures.