Shifting from co-development to co-innovation

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Abstract:

Carmakers and suppliers currently experiment with new forms of relationships in order to prepare and develop coherent and valuable innovations that feature incrementally evolving new products (new services, architectural breakthroughs, etc.). We observe diversity both in the very nature of co-innovation partnerships and in the in-house organisational settings. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each of these configurations for the partners? The aim of our research is to analyse the impact of the organisational forms of co-innovation on the performance of innovation processes. We first define co-innovation situations in contrast to the co-development model. We then present the innovation route analytical framework in order to empirically analyse co-innovation processes and assess their performance. Once this groundwork is laid, we compare four cases: two innovations both developed by a European (EASYCAR) and an Asian car manufacturer (NIPCAR). The comparison of the scenarios shows the variety of innovation cooperation processes and their related performance profiles. Copyright © 2008 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.