To organize or not to organize: ideation in innovation ecosystems - Lotte Geertsen

To organize or not to organize: ideation in innovation ecosystems

An in-depth understanding of the collaborative ideation process at

Science Parks in the Netherlands

Department of Economics and Business Administration MSc Business Administration - Strategy & Organization

Author: C.H.E. Geertsen Student number: 2562139 Supervisor: Prof. Dr. T. Elfring Application date: January 16, 2015 Submission date: June 30, 2015 Word count: 9,952

Preface

Before I invite you to experience the journey of how to organize collaborative ideation at Science

Parks, I would like to thank several people who helped me towards this end goal of a written thesis

product. First, I would like to thank my supervisor Prof. Dr. T. Elfring for his very clear, supportive

and scientific advising role in this research trajectory. Next to that, I very much appreciated the help I

have received from all colleagues at Indicia Value Architects, in particular Dr. G. Post. Furthermore,

I’m very grateful to everyone who participated in this study. I very much enjoyed each interview and

also view this as an extension of my professional network. And also I would like to thank all other

people for the unconditional support I received. I want to express a special thanks to my fellow student

Carlijn Tempelaars and I’m very thankful to have received her constructive criticism and laughter

during the entire master program.

Next to this thesis study, I developed an online digital magazine including the results of this research,

more information about innovation ecosystems and additional interviews. You can learn and get

inspiration at: magazine.indicia-valuearchitects.nl.

The copyright rests with the author. The author is solely responsible for the content of the thesis,

including mistakes. S&O cannot be held liable for the content of the author’s thesis.

Abstract

~ The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas – Linus Pauling ~

As we are living in a knowledge and network economy, competitive advantage from new

innovations cannot be done by acting solo. Access to knowledge and markets is given as

companies and institutions make these resources available for partners. This requires for both

partners to join the innovation funnel together.

To start up this funnel, companies need to share ideas so that these ideas and knowledge cross

over. A sharing collaboration is needed. Collaboration comes, among other elements, from

proximity and trust. This proximity is a key element at Science Parks. How do these

companies and institutions benefit from this proximity and enhance the outcomes of

collaborative ideation? Therefore the research question is: 'How to design and organize the

collaborative ideation process in particular to foster interactions among the actors of

Science Parks?'

This research focuses on the way the process of 'ideation' is facilitated in the context of a

Science Park. A Science Park is characterized by a strong clustering of knowledge and R&D,

where public and private parties together give meaning to the open innovation model and to

do so - with the use of private and public resources - collaborate in collective projects and

programs and invest in joint sharing of both facility sharing and shared service centers.

Collaborative ideation is perceived by many Science Parks as an important activity to feed the

'innovation funnel' with ideas, new product concepts and technological challenges.

Through a multiple case study at four different Science Parks in-depth interviews were held

from four different perspectives which led to valuable results. One central dilemma showed to

play an important role: connecting versus protecting.

Overall, it is found through this research that collaborative ideation should contain a sharing

culture, where creativity is organized and where people’s opportunities are used in their full

potential. It would be interesting to conduct more research in other industries and on how to

exactly organize this creativity and what tools are useful.

Keywords: Open Innovation –Business Innovation funnel – Collaborative Ideation –

Innovation Ecosystems - Science Parks

Master thesis – C.H.E. Geertsen – To organize or not to organize: ideation in innovation ecosystems 4

Table of contents

1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 5

1.1. Setting the scene ...................................................................................................................... 5

1.2. Problem introduction ............................................................................................................... 6

1.3. Research relevance .................................................................................................................. 7

1.4. Research question .................................................................................................................... 8

1.5. Contribution to literature ......................................................................................................... 8

1.6. Thesis structure ........................................................................................................................ 9

2. Theoretical framework .................................................................................................................. 10

2.1. Collaborative ideation ........................................................................................................... 10

2.2. Science Park .......................................................................................................................... 12

3. Research methods .......................................................................................................................... 14

3.1. Research design ..................................................................................................................... 14

3.2. Research context .................................................................................................................... 14

3.3. Data collection & key concepts ............................................................................................. 14

3.4. Data analysis .......................................................................................................................... 16

4. Results ........................................................................................................................................... 17

4.1. Why – benefits ....................................................................................................................... 17

4.2. When – conditions ................................................................................................................. 18

4.3. How – strategies .................................................................................................................... 19

4.4. What – mechanisms ............................................................................................................... 20

5. Discussion & conclusion ............................................................................................................... 22

5.1. Discussion ............................................................................................................................. 22

5.2. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 25

5.3. Theoretical and practical implications ................................................................................... 25

5.4. Limitations & future research ................................................................................................ 26

Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 27

Appendix A: Conceptual Model of Collaborative Ideation................................................................... 33

Appendix B: Context of Dutch Science Parks ...................................................................................... 34

Appendix C: Framework of Dutch Science Parks ................................................................................. 35

Appendix D: Summary data respondents .............................................................................................. 36

Appendix E: Interview invitation to respondents .................................................................................. 37

Appendix F: Interview questions to respondents .................................................................................. 38

Appendix G: Results analysis ................................................................................................................ 39


1. Introduction

1.1. Setting the scene

Nowadays, we are all part of a network and knowledge economy (Alexy, George & Salter,

2013), with a strong clustering of knowledge and Research and Development at Science Parks

as one of the practical outcomes. Here knowledge workers can meet and exchange ideas (van

Dinteren, 2009; Post, 2015) and innovative success can be gained through closed innovation,

open innovation or a combination of both. Not all experts agree on what is optimal, either not

to share knowledge and minimize knowledge spillovers (Cassiman & Veugelers, 2002) or to

share knowledge and expect valuable knowledge in return (Yang, Phelps, and Steensma,

2010).

Companies, both large and small, are looking for new ways to compete in their markets in

order to achieve sustainable competitive advantage (Zahra & Nambisan, 2011). This

competitive advantage is mainly determined by controlling the valuable resources of an

organization (Barney, 1991; Pfeffer & Salancik, 1978; Teece, 1986). Organizations would

like have access to each other’s resources and therefore develop different forms of

collaboration strategies (Bresser & Harl, 1986; Hillman & Hitt, 1999; Kale & Singh, 2009;

Oliver, 1990; Podolny & Page, 1998). In order to gain innovative success there are two most

valuable resources for an organization. First, knowledge has to be embodied in technology,

processes and/ or routines. Second, access to respective product markets has to be available

(Grant, 1996; Gulati & Singh, Kogut & Zander, 1992).

Organizations, looking for innovative success, apply the business innovation funnel (Cooper

& Edgett, 2007). This business innovation funnel starts with many ideas from which a few

elements are selected to be enriched into business innovations. Finally, these newly developed

innovations have to deliver turnover growth (visualized in Figure 1).

Figure 1: Business Innovation Funnel [source: Cooper & Edgett, 2007]


The fuzzy front-end in Figure 1 requires many ideas to start the process. Also in this stage are

knowledge sharing and subsequent collaborations between players, which depend on the

social network of these players and the proximity within this network. Proximity shows to

have a strong social pressure in informal groups which leads to sharing based on trust

(Festinger, Schachter & Back, 1950). Next to that, proximity shows to be an important

element within a culture of helping. The further people and/ or organizations are separated

from each other the less likely it is that they will collaborate (Kraut & Egido, 1988).

Knowledge sharing and collaboration is facilitated by proximity, which is a key policy

element of an innovation cluster or Science Park. A central element in the theory of clustering

is the idea that physical clustering of businesses within specialized sectors contributes to

regional economic growth (Porter, 1998). The spatial proximity of companies and institutions

within related industries creates a specific setting in which learning, knowledge sharing and

mutual competition are encouraged (Raaijmakers, 2012). Additionally, active participation

within the innovation ecosystem of a Science Park provides actors access to knowledge,

facilities, complementary contacts and network structures (Post, 2009).

The question is how to benefit from this proximity and enhance the outcomes of sharing ideas

and knowledge. But experts disagree on whether to structurally manage the fuzzy front end of

innovation or rather let it be the result of informal (even chance) encounters (Birkinshaw,

Bouquet & Barsoux, 2011; Goman, 2012). In essence innovation is about bringing together

‘neue Kombinationen’ (Schumpeter, 1911). But how do these new combinations come

together? Is it only by informal contacts and by chance or can this sharing of ideas be

structurally designed and organized?

1.2. Problem introduction

For innovative success, (breakthrough) ideas through novel collaborations are necessary. It

starts with the idea generation phase of the innovation value chain (Hansen & Birkinshaw,

2007). Given that ‘a good preparation is half the battle’ this first phase is very important. A

collaboration of organizations or individuals can be defined as 'collaborative ideation'

(Harvey, 2014) and is characterized by extraordinary group creativity (Cotton, Shen & Livne-

Tarandach, 2011; Ericscson, Krampe & Tesch-Romer, 1993; Robers, Dutton, Spreitzer,

Heaphy & Quinn, 2005). Group creativity output improves when there is a greater variety of

resources that provide input and by that raise the chance of a breakthrough idea (Harvey,

2014). If this is only a random process a breakthrough idea can be treated as an exception,


which is not a preferable situation (Harvey, 2014). Moreover, actors should be brought

together and be involved in the idea generation process so that they integrate their opinions

and perspectives to achieve cross-fertilization (Harvey, 2014). Therefore, collaborative

ideation helps an organization to improve its positioning within the technological field and

economical market (Alexy et al., 2013). This specifically accounts for an innovation

ecosystem because actors, from different parties, are dependent on each other's behavior and

contribution (Adner, 2012; Pisano & Teece, 2007) to achieve successful innovations (Stam,

2009; West, 2003).

The following example at Maintenance Value Park explains how the practical issue ‘working

at heights’ can be resolved using collaborative ideation. Many key components in chemical

systems are high or in places difficult for inspection, maintenance and repair. The standard

solution was to build scaffolds that allow the technical inspector to climb upwards.

Unfortunately, building such a scaffold is case specific and therefore very costly.

Furthermore, it may not even be the best qualitative solution. After a collective brainstorm

and sharing of ideas, a project was started with a group of different actors (large company,

small company, supplier, research institute) to develop a better solution. This resulted in a

novel construction with ´rope-access teams´ and drones with attached cameras to inspect,

maintain and repair the chemical system. Together the actors made a significant contribution

in optimizing maintenance and achieved structural cost savings.

1.3. Research relevance

It is acknowledged that generation of new ideas increasingly result from accidental or

unexpected encounters and collisions of knowledge domains that seem to have nothing in

common at first sight (Pelle, 2015). Collaborative ideation allows for developing complex

connections that were previously unrelated (Bartunek, Gordon & Weathersby, 1983; Bledow,

Frese, Anderson, Erez & Farr, 2009; Koestler, 1964). Unfortunately, this process has received

too little attention (Post & Smulders, 2015).

Therefore it is important to examine collaborative ideation since it is assumed that it increases

the chance on ideas and breakthrough ideas as it shapes the collaborative behavior of different

external actors. This is done by involving knowledge and competences outside the

organization (Alexy et al., 2013). When knowledge is to be revealed it is important to

examine the essential issue of how to design the process so that it maximizes innovative

success (Alexy, 2013; Krogh et al., 2012).


1.4. Research question

Arising from the description above, the main research question is:

'How to design and organize the collaborative ideation process in particular to foster

interactions among the actors of Science Parks?'

The following sub questions are established in order to be able to answer the research

question.

1. What are the benefits to consider collaborative ideation?

2. What are the conditions to decide to start collaborative ideation?

3. What strategies can be chosen for collaborative ideation?

4. What mechanisms are used during collaborative ideation?

1.5. Contribution to literature

This research contributes to consisting literature in three different ways. First, this research

builds on the of idea production as it offers a structural overview of the process and the

underexplored process-based facilitators (benefits, conditions, strategies, mechanisms,

deliverables) in the process of collaborative ideation (Harvey, 2014). This will result in new

understandings and insights of extraordinary group creativity as a consistent process of

producing breakthrough ideas (Harvey, 2014). Furthermore, it is unclear how groups use the

resources, tools and processes that facilitate group creativity (Harvey, 2014). This research

may identify a novel collaboration method as a standard tool in the competitive toolbox of the

organization (Alexy et al., 2013).

Second, a new template for collaborative ideation and design of the creative process in the

group (Harvey, 2014) and its embedding in the organizational strategy is provided (Alexy et

al., 2013). Relationships are strongly dependent on knowledge brokering within a network

and this research extends the understanding of knowledge stickiness (Zahra & Nambisan,

2011) by adding new insights on the successful governing of networks (Alexy et al., 2013).

Third, the concept of collaborative ideation is empirically investigated at several Science

Parks by providing a new framework that will help platforms to become more successful

(Gawer & Cusumano, 2014). This research focuses on the organization of innovative activity

and open innovation (Alexy et al., 2013; Chesbrough, 2003; Dahlander & Gann, 2010;

Laursen & Salter, 2006).


1.6. Thesis structure

This thesis consists of four sections (Figure 2). First, an overview of the reviewed literature is

given. Second, the methodological design is explained and shows the related choices. Third,

the most important results are presented, based on an extensive results analysis. Finally, the

discussion and conclusion are presented; this is then discussed at the level of implications,

limitations and suggestions for future research.

Figure 2: Thesis structure


2. Theoretical framework

2.1. Collaborative ideation

Innovation is a developmental process that is triggered by input from basic research, applied

research and/ or the market. The aim is to bring new products and/ or services to the market.

The innovation value chain of Hansen and Birkinshaw (2007) consists of three different

phases: Idea Generation, Conversion and Diffusion (Figure 3).

Figure 3: The innovation development process [Source: Hansen & Birkinshaw (2007)]

It all starts with the idea generation phase where ideas are generated in three possible ways:

(1) In-house: ideas are generated within a unit, (2) Cross-pollination: ideas are generated

through collaboration across units within one organization and (3) External: ideas are

generated in collaboration with parties outside the organization. These forms of idea

generation, hereafter referred to as collaborative ideation, depend on so-called inter-

organizational relationships, which are important for the flow of new knowledge (Zahra &

Nambisan, 2011). In this phase organizations try to generate high-quality ideas from outside

the organization itself. This external approach requires interfaces that are sufficiently 'open' in

order to allow other external organizations to 'plug in' complements, at the same time,

improve and innovate these complements and make money from own investments (Gawer &

Cusumano, 2014). This belief is in line with prior research about open innovation such as

described by Chesbrough (2003) and von Hippel (2005). However, it also pinpoints important

trade-offs between the complexity of 'open', or collaborative ideation, and 'close' innovation.

Several researchers suggest that opening up these interfaces results in increasing the

complementors' incentives to innovate (Gawer & Cusumano, 2014).

Collaborative ideation in the fuzzy front-end is based on a dialectical model that understands

collective processes and recognizes a constant struggle between conflicting forces which act

as drivers of change and novelty (Hegel, 1977; Marx, 1967). In this model people engage in


social interactions from different perspectives and different understandings (Bartunek, 1984;

Berger & Luckmann, 1966), which need to be integrated (Harvey, 2014). In this model, the

engagement of actors with one another changes their perspectives, which allows the

development of new ideas (Bartunek, 1984; Benson, 1977). The goal of this model is to

consistently produce (breakthrough) ideas, enable extraordinary group creativity that results in

more (radical) innovations (Harvey, 2014). It is very important that collaborative ideation is

consistently organized, as random variation treats a breakthrough idea as an exception. This

may lead to more incremental innovations instead of radical innovations (Harvey, 2014).

Next to that, reorganizing knowledge and identifying categories before collectively generating

ideas contributes to the structure of creative thinking and results in more original and high-

quality ideas (Mobley, Doares & Mumford, 1992; Mumford, Baughman & Sager, 2003). In

theory, every idea can be a breakthrough. What matters is how you treat it (Harvey, 2014). In

time, the consistent production of potential breakthrough ideas can become more difficult as

the group experiences some kind of creativity exhaustion (Harvey, 2014). Another difficulty

that can occur is the lack of conflict or diversity within the group during the process of

collaborative ideation (Harvey, 2014). This diversity aspect has been successfully applied

before in the developing shared problem understanding (Harvey, 2014; Smulders, 2013).

Based on the definition as described above and on literature reviews by Alexy et al. (2013)

and Harvey (2014), the following conceptual model of the collaborative ideation process

could be established (see Figure 4). It includes the different process steps and underlying

elements of collaborative ideation, which will be explained next. More details on this

conceptual model, concerning the dimensions and elements, are given in Appendix A.

Figure 4: Conceptual model of the collaborative ideation process [Source: own research]


The process starts with a need to collaborate in order to get (radical) innovations. This is quite

difficult without partners or without the ecosystem (Alexy et al., 2013; Harvey, 2014). 'Why'

an actor considers using collaborative ideation will be based on weighing deliverable direct

and indirect benefits (Alexy et al., 2013). Direct benefits can be described as intentionally and

active (Alexy et al., 2013), which are expected to be preferred over traditional collaboration

models (Ahuja, 2000) if there is a high level score on these benefits. Indirect benefits on the

other hand can be described as unknowingly and passive (Alexy et al., 2013) and play a subtle

important role that can lead to unintentional collaborative behavior (Alexy et al., 2013).

In the next step, the conditions of internal and external resources give an answer to 'when'

collaborative ideation is decided to be applied. Internal resources reflect on all aspects and

capabilities of the existing organization while external resources reflect on all social and

environmental aspects and forces (Alexy et al., 2013; Harvey, 2014). Subsequently, the

determined strategy gives an answer to 'how' collaborative ideation will be used. A

determined strategy depends on two choices; between problem or solution revealing (Alexy et

al., 2013) and on a choice between path extension or creation (Alexy et al., 2013). This step is

followed by the action oriented step of collaborative ideation and 'what' mechanisms are used

in this step (Harvey, 2014). In the final stage this process will deliver an increased chance on

breakthrough ideas, which lead to radical innovations (Harvey, 2014). Furthermore, it is

important to consistently follow this process, therefore it can also be seen as a cycle which is

constantly restarted.

2.2. Science Park

The ecosystem concept is borrowed from biology where it refers to 'a complex set of

relationships among the living resources, habitats, and residents of an area, whose functional

goal is to maintain an equilibrium sustaining state' (Jackson, 2011). In nature clustering

around a natural drinking place is a result of the scarcity of water in the near environment.

Humans and businesses gather in ecosystems for this same reason. 'The presence of (scarce)

resources, (natural) sources, (skilled) labor and financial resources explain the emergence of

concentrations of economic activity', (Post, 2009).

The business ecosystem was defined by James Moore (1993), describing it as 'an economic

community supported by a foundation of interacting organizations and individuals, the

organisms of the business world.' Nowadays the following definition is developed with a

particular set of elements: (1) dynamic, purposive communities with (2) complex, interlocking


relationships built on collaboration, trust and co-creation of value and (3) specializing in

exploitation of a shared set of complementary technologies or competencies (Gobble, 2014).

Such business or innovation ecosystems are important because you can benefit as a player

from relationships or networks around you (Gobble, 2014). Consequently, helping another

player in your ecosystem can help you (Gobble, 2014). This makes ecosystems fertile ground

for creating new ventures of different types (Zahra & Nambisan, 2011). Moreover, growth has

been taking place of innovation ecosystems due to an increase in digital content of products

and services and in the number of digital innovations comprising physical and digital

components. Within these ecosystems there should be more openness in order to lower the

barrier to participate in the ecosystem with limited resources and capabilities (Zahra &

Nambisan, 2011).

In general there are two different categories of innovation ecosystems: internal at company

level and external at industry level (Gawer & Cusumano, 2014). For externally focused

innovation ecosystems there are three types (Gobble, 2014). The thinker-type focuses on

attaching resources to new ideas. It is concerned with the discovery, design and delivery of

new ideas (Adner & Kapoor, 2010). Within this thinker-innovation ecosystem the proposed

community of research will be narrowed down in this research to the so-called 'triple helix'

which includes research, industry and government. In other words, this research will focus on

micro innovation ecosystems, hereafter called Science Parks, which are active on an industry

level as a thinker-type and includes all three element of the triple helix.

A successful innovation ecosystem is one that is both productive and robust (Gobble, 2014).

For an innovation ecosystem to be productive it needs to translate knowledge into increased

value for partners. For robustness it is important that the ecosystem is resistant to disruption.

This can be done by reduction of development costs and risks and by combination of

complementary knowledge which enables partners to address high complex problems (Leten,

van Haverbeke, Roijakkers, Clerix, 2013).


3. Research methods

3.1. Research design

The aim of this exploratory research is to develop more in-depth knowledge and

understanding, and to include these lessons learned in the design process about the

phenomenon ‘collaborative ideation’, at Science Parks. There is no prior research that

investigated this in-depth and therefore indicates necessity of novel theory (Edmondson and

McManus, 2007). This research is an ontological worldview which will be based on

relativism and constructivism (Guba & Lincoln, 1994; Saunders et al., 2009).

The concept of collaborative ideation at Science Parks raises many questions on its

functioning in practice (Alexy, 2013; Harvey, 2014) and how it can be improved (van Aken &

Andriessen, 2011). Therefore, the research question has a design-oriented approach with the

aim to shape the design from the exploratory research (Creswell, 2007; Guba & Lincoln,

1994). The meaning of this concept can be determined through case study research

comprehension (Easterby-Smith et al., 2012). A research design that perfectly fits this kind of

research topic is qualitative research as it leads to new integrations and revision of the

conceptual framework (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Consequently, the sub questions are

descriptive and results from these questions are used to establish a qualitative design in the

discussion and conclusion (van Aken & Andriessen, 2011).

3.2. Research context

The conceptual model of collaborative ideation is explored at different Dutch Science Parks.

This specific context currently counts 39 Science Parks (Buck, 2014) and houses 1,709

business (excluding universities and research institutes such as TNO), 41,448 jobs and 827

spin-offs (Buck, 2014). Results from Buck Consultants International (2014), commissioned

by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, show the distribution of the parks in four stages. More

details on the Dutch Science Parks are available in Appendix B.

3.3. Data collection & key concepts

This qualitative study is based on inductive reasoning and will provide insights and new

constructs on designing the collaborative ideation process (Creswell, 2007; Edmondson &

McManus, 2007). These new insights and constructs give substantial meaning to the

established conceptual model of the literature chapter, a design-oriented approach (van Aken

& Andriessen, 2011). Consequently, it is important that open-ended data is gathered that need

interpretation for meaning (Edmondson and McManus, 2007). For that reason, this research


holds a multiple case study of 16 semi-structured interviews with 17 participants, conducted

at all development stages (idea, startup, grow and mature) of Dutch Science Parks (Buck,

2014). The interviews are conducted with stakeholders with different perspectives, based on

the triple-helix structure (government, industry, research). Case selection is based on time of

speed and accessibility. An overview of the selected cases is given in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Case selection of Dutch Science Parks [Source: Buck Consultants International, 2014]

In these different cases the four dimensions (Appendix C) of a Science Park are determined

and analyzed with the use of results from Buck (2014). As can be seen in Appendix C, the

four dimensions were analyzed using the results from Buck (2014). Moreover, an overview of

the respondent categories is given (Table 2). In addition, Appendix D provides a summary of

the respondent data including the respondent functions.

Table 2: Respondent categories at Dutch Science Parks [source: own research]

This table represents the intra-variability in Science Parks and represents inter-variability in

perspectives of the actors at a Science Park (Miles & Huberman, 1994).

The conceptual model of collaborative ideation is analyzed using semi structured interviews.

In Appendix E the invitation to the interview is provided and this is followed by the global


interview questions presented in Appendix F. In-depth understanding during the interview is

developed with the conceptual model from Appendix A.

Before the actual interviews were held, two pilot interviews were conducted to check the

accuracy of the conceptual model and the interview questions. This resulted in the final

conceptual model given in Appendix A. Next to that, useful information from these two pilot

interviews was treated as an extra source of information which is also taken into account in

the results and discussion chapter.

The situation and context were clearly defined at the beginning of each interview, in order to

create a baseline from which the participants could provide an answer. Moreover, all 19

participants, divided over 18 interviews (including pilot interviews) were recorded. All

respondents received an interview report and were asked to verify the content. All

respondents confirmed that the content of the interview report is correctly interpreted. In

addition, different sources of data such as informative documents were gathered to triangulate

the data (Baxter, 2008; Seale, 1999).

3.4. Data analysis

The study required a systematic analysis of the large amount of qualitative data that was

gathered (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Because of this large amount of data, data reduction by

‘coding’ was required. All interview transcripts were coded using the qualitative analysis

software tool Atlas.ti (Table 3). Furthermore in the next chapter ‘Results’ the ranking of

topics is given, based on the two most answered elements according to the respondents and

based on one most important element according to private observations of the researcher.

Table 3: Coding process of this empirical qualitative study [source: own research]


4. Results

In this results section a clear summary is given of the collected data. Since the interviews

were held in Dutch, the quotations in this chapter are translated from Dutch. The results are

presented based on the four elements of the conceptual model: benefits, conditions, strategies

and mechanisms. Furthermore, this results chapter is based on the total results analysis

(Appendix G).

4.1. Why – benefits

As there are different reasons to consider collaborative ideation, the first question is: ‘Why do

you use collaborative ideation?’ (Table 4).

Table 4: Most important benefits of collaborative ideation [source: own research]

New knowledge is the most desirable benefit to gain from collaborative ideation. This is

confirmed by the following quote:

‘That is the driving force of innovation, the knowledge or solution you do not have and

which someone else could have, but he or she does not know you are looking for it.’

(Respondent #01)

Second, the synergy level is considered an important benefit. When executed with the

community in a short time-to-market process you can stay ahead of competition. This is

illustrated by the quote:

‘And then you see that it really is a must to work together to achieve integrated solutions

and that is what we all go from. On your own you cannot get more solutions. So there is a

necessity.’

(Respondent #03)

Furthermore, the element and awareness of purposeful learning is an important benefit within

collaborative ideation as you can learn either as an individual or as a company from the

gained experiences. This is illustrated with the following quote:

‘What I see is a lot of activity from people coming in and out and who are doing

meaningful things together, which makes them happy. I see an inspiring environment

where people can be working on technology that matters.’

(Respondent #11)


The above shows that, by sharing and interacting, a so-called collusion of hunches, new

knowledge can be established from which the effect is greater than the sum of the separate

elements. This provides the benefit of purposeful learning.

4.2. When – conditions

A decision to apply collaborative ideation is influenced by several conditions, therefore the

subsequent question was asked to the respondents: ‘When do you use collaborative ideation?’

(Table 5).

Table 5: Most important conditions of collaborative ideation [source: own research]

The analyzed data show that shared value and shared interest is the most important condition

to decide to apply collaborative ideation. This is supported by the quote:

‘It may be that we say yes, that looks good, they do things that we find relevant, we have

common interests and we do not know each other so well already so we join.’

(Respondent #16)

A second important condition explained by the respondents is the level of enthusiasm of the

participants. This can be made clear with the following quote:

‘You also need people excited to participate in such a project. Not every engineer is

enthusiastic about it. And engineers are not directly the people who will passionately

share knowledge.’

(Respondent #09)

Funding & ROI for collaborative ideation is found an equal important condition. The

availability of sufficient funding can come from different sources; however it is an important

precondition to start collaborative ideation. The following quotes explain this matter:

‘You see that funding is a very important precondition. Participants do have concrete

project ideas, the only dilemma is who will pay and how to get it financed.’

(Respondent #03)

‘I try to stay away from money very often, because if money is you ask for money it often

works more difficult.’

(Respondent #04)

Finally, whether Intellectual Property is protected and whether a Non Disclosure Agreement

is established, is also considered important by the respondents. This is made clear with use of

the following quote:


‘If we are going to share knowledge with other parties, then we of course use a non

disclosure agreement. Open innovation sounds nice, but you have to realize that there

are no or only a few companies willing to put their ideas and technology on the street,

you must also protect yourself.’

(Respondent #10)

These four conditions show an interesting and difficult conflict here: ‘connecting’ versus

‘protecting’. The conditions ‘shared value’ and ‘enthusiasm’, people’s inner incentives to

share ideas, are opposed to the conditions ‘funding & ROI’ and ‘IP protection’. Companies

fear sharing ideas, since the Intellectual Property can be stolen and profit can be lost. The

most dominant half is likely to win the discussion. In order for ‘connecting’ to triumph, the

resources ‘shared value’ and ‘enthusiasm’ must outweigh these fears. Next to that, it is

important to have a certain level of a ‘complementary value chain commitment’, ‘creative

thinking’, ‘company culture’, ‘group diversity’ and ‘time available’. All these added elements

are considered important by several respondents (see Appendix G).

4.3. How – strategies

The third element from the conceptual model was asked to discover the choice of

collaborative ideation strategy. The related question is: ‘How do you use collaborative

ideation?’ (Table 6).

Table 6: Most important strategies of collaborative ideation [source: own research]

As it becomes clear from the above table, ‘themes’ is considered the most important by the

respondents since it aids in developing a collaborative ideation strategy based on themes

connecting the future development trajectory. This can be explained with the following

quotes:

‘To establish the R&D calendar, meaning the main issues you will focus on the next

eighteen months or the next three years, we try to determine a common denominator to

see what we should do or what we should try to get organized.’

(Respondent #02)

The second element of the collaborative ideation strategy is the Technology Readiness Level.

This element is important to stay away from competition and valorization. Respondents

explain that you need to stay in between those two items:

‘Technology Readiness Level: when you are at a too high level and you come close to the

market… If you come too close to the market, the competition sensitivity is too high. Then

intensive cooperation is difficult… You should also not be too far away from the market,


for example on fundamental research, it also will not work because you have no idea of

the business case and because companies do not want to invest in it. So you miss the

commitment of the businesses and so you have to fit it in between.’

(Respondent #16)

‘Yes, you have to be early to increase the willingness to collaborate. The closer you are to

a product, the more competition will play a role and confidentiality comes into play… So

you have to look for generic issues that hold for everyone. There you can easily find

willingness to collaborate.’

(Respondent #03)

The third most important strategic element is path extension or the way to extend existing

paths not too far away from the core business. This is clarified with the next quote:

‘It should fit our core business… we experience the importance of certain technological

developments which we think we require in the future.’

(Respondent #12)

Further analysis of the data (see Appendix G) per Science Park and per perspective support

the above strategies to be the most important.

4.4. What – mechanisms

Besides considering how to start collaborative ideation, a fourth questions needs to be

answered: ‘What do you use during collaborative ideation?’ (Table 7).

Table 7: Most important mechanisms of collaborative ideation [source: own research]

The organization mechanism is considered the most important, meaning that respondents

appreciate that one party is responsible for the organization and direction of all soft facilities.

Furthermore, respondents do not believe in accidental encounters:

‘It sounds a bit bland, but the accidental encounter does not exist. At least it is always a

very carefully organized accidental encounter. Or it is a carefully organized way to let the

encounter occur accidentally.’

(Respondent #02)

‘You have to organize the sharing otherwise it will not occur. You do not initiate such

things yourself.’

(Respondent #06)

The importance of providing distinctive hard facilities at a Science Park can be illustrated

using the following quotes:

‘Good facilities are very important because you need to be able to conduct experiments on

a very high level.’

(Respondent #12)


‘You need distinctive facilities because when you have the same facilities as the rest you

will never reach the world class level… these are expensive so it is best to share these

facilities with each other.’

(Respondent #14)

Finally, the level of active participation from the community at the Science Park contributes

to collaborative ideation. An active community is not based on single moments but as a chain

or movement, within the ecosystem of the Park:

‘You must have a certain critical mass, that there is indeed a possibility to interact and

so that things happen.’

(respondent #10)

‘At the moment, the number of companies is relatively low, so the number of

participants seems to be important.’

(respondent #15)

There are several mechanisms that distinguish one Science Park from another. However, one

element greatly contributes to collaborative thinking; the ‘soft facilities’, or intangible aspects.

These aspects, like organizing meetings, building connections, creating a community, a liquid

network of sharing, are essential to increase the chance of sharing ideas. This provides a solid

baseline from which a breakthrough idea can be further developed. Together with distinctive

hard facilities: lab facilities, coffee houses, lunch spots or other meeting places, and the active

participation of the community and getting the Science Park in motion will help increase the

chance on breakthrough ideas.


5. Discussion & conclusion

In this chapter the research (sub) questions will be answered and the results from this study

are compared to the conceptual models as discussed in chapter 2. Furthermore, the theoretical

and managerial implications, validity and limitations are presented and avenues. This chapter

will conclude with recommendation for future research.

5.1. Discussion

The aim of this study was to formulate an answer and create more in-depth understanding of

the collaborative ideation process at Science Parks. The research question was:

'How to design the collaborative ideation process in particular to foster interactions among

the actors of Science Parks?'

This question is answered using four sub questions in the following paragraphs.

5.1.1. What are the benefits to consider collaborative ideation?

Three important benefits were indentified from the interviews: new knowledge, synergy and

purposeful learning. First, the benefit ‘new knowledge’ is in line with the indirect benefit

‘structural compatibility’, as the value of the external knowledge objectively addresses the

needs (Cohen & Levinthal, 1990; Lane & Lubatkin, 1998). Second, the benefit of synergy is

also consistent with an existing indirect benefit: ‘content compatibility’. This is the overlap in

the categorization and language of the existing body of knowledge (Grant, 1996; Lane &

Lubatkin, 1998). Synergy awareness within the ecosystem of the Science Park leads to people

interacting and sharing ideas. This can result in a collision of hunches which can beneficially

provide new knowledge, purposeful learning or both. Purposeful learning could not be

connected to the existing benefit and therefore can be added to the conceptual model.

5.1.2. What are the conditions to decide to start collaborative ideation?

Shared value, enthusiasm, funding & ROI and IP protection were identified as conditions to

start collaborative ideation. ‘Shared value’ is in line with the internal resource ‘organizational

capabilities’ given that it is about disclosing knowledge (von Krogh, Wallin & Sieg, 2012)

and reap external knowledge (Chesbrough & Appleyard, 2007). The ‘enthusiasm’ condition is

in line with ‘cognitive resources’ as it builds upon the full engagement and motivation of

participants with the creative task (West, 2002). The condition of ‘funding & ROI’ can be

added to the conceptual model since there is no connection to the existing resources. Fourth,

the ‘IP protection’ condition is in line with the ‘degree of modularity’ resource since this

withholds releasing without disclosing ownership (Henkel & Baldwin, 2012; West, 2003).


These conditions are in conflict of ‘connecting versus protecting’. This is challenging since

money and profits are involved.

5.1.3. What strategies can be chosen for collaborative ideation?

Three most important strategies can be appointed: themes, Technology Readiness Level and

path extension. Both the strategies ‘themes’ and path extension are in line with the conceptual

model. In fact, the strategy element ‘themes’ is similar to ‘problem revealing’ and this

combined with ‘path extension’ results in the so-called issue spreading, or broadcast search

(Alexy, 2013). The ‘Technology Readiness Level’ can be added to the conceptual model since

it gives meaning to the pre-competitive development stage. In combination with ‘themes’ and

‘path extension’, the Technology Readiness Level reveals the opportunity of ideas to be

shared by people based on the pre-competitive stage of these ideas.

5.1.4. What mechanisms are used during collaborative ideation?

The results from the previous chapter showed the following three most important

mechanisms: organize soft facilities, distinctive hard facilities, participation. All three

mechanisms are new to the conceptual model and therefore can be added to the literature.

First, soft facilities need to be organized by one responsible party. This is supported by the

appropriate distinctive hard facilities to set interactions in motion and build relationships and

trust. The level of active participation of the community also contributes to the process of

collaborative ideation. A situation for a coincidental interaction to occur needs to be created

by organizing soft facilities of a Science Park and hold a party responsible for it. These

facilities are stimulated by facilities at the park that stimulates interaction to create an active

community that is participating within a sharing network.

5.1.5. A new conceptual model

The answers to the sub questions can be combined in an improved conceptual model for

collaborative ideation. The adapted conceptual model is presented in Figure 5.


Figure 5: New conceptual model of collaborative ideation process at Science Parks [source: own research]

In three out of four process steps, this new conceptual model cares about people for at least

one of the elements per step. In the current conceptual model the dimension ‘who’ is not

explicitly included, but this research shows its importance. The different dimensions and

elements of the collaborative ideation process seem to be very much interlinked and do not

only seem to work in a sequential process of steps. For these reasons a holistic conceptual

model fits better to the process of collaborative ideation in particular to foster interactions

among actors at Science Parks (Figure 6).

Figure 6: Holistic model for collaborative ideation at Science Parks [source: own research]


5.2. Conclusion

Overall the main claim of this research is that collaborative ideation cannot be based on

coincidental encounters but the fuzzy front-end of innovation should be well organized. A

novel holistic model presents a previously unnoticed element people in the center. Three

interrelated partial recommendations can be given to design the collaborative ideation process

at Science Parks.

First, the collaborative ideation process needs communal forces or a sharing culture to be

able to achieve interactions among actor and create the possibility of a collision of hunches.

This can only be achieved if ‘connecting’ wins the battle from ‘protecting’. Hereby, active

participation of the community of actors is required.

Second, in order to have impact the collaborative ideation process requires organized

creativity to increase the chance of successfully allowing ideas to become breakthrough

ideas. Therefore it is important to have one responsible party for the organization of these soft

facilities at the Science Park.

Third, although you cannot fully control interests and skills of the actors at the Sciene Park

you do have the possibility to stimulate people’s opportunities. By explicitly adding the

element of people in the model there is more focus on motivating actors. This third

recommendation is depending on the company’s culture, its leadership capabilities and time

available to join collaborative ideation.

Overall, these three recommendations will provide a better organized collaborative ideation

process which is an important tool to enhance and facilitate innovation and collaboration in

Science Parks.

5.3. Theoretical and practical implications

Here, new elements of the conceptual model are presented which have implications for the

theoretical field. This research added new in-depth understanding about the collaborative

ideation process to the existing literature. New insights are provided on the literature of open

innovation and the innovation value chain. Different benefits, conditions, strategies and

mechanisms provide actors at Science Parks new insights with a holistic model, indicating the

practical indications. The following elements should be taken into account: importance of

‘people’, protection and funding issues which may obstruct collaborative ideation tools before

and during the collaborative ideation process.


5.4. Limitations & future research

In the chapter ‘Research Methods’, the methodological limitations were stated already.

Moreover, the results are only applicable to the Dutch Science Parks. Additional to this

limitation is the fact that all included Science Parks in this research are ‘thinker-type’ Parks.

One may expect this to be different for Science Parks that contain service development for

example. This investigation of service Parks is an interesting field for future research. Next to

that, the Science Parks of this research develop products that are dominated by ‘hardware’

developments. These product developments can be distinguished by an extreme high level of

funding that is required for the development of new ideas. Since funding is shown here as a

hard condition for collaborative ideation, it is interesting to conduct more in-depth

understanding of this principle in future research. Finally, these hardware product

developments at Science Parks are carried out by specialists, mostly highly educated technical

engineers, and so the human factor of these specialists would be interesting to investigate in

more depth in future research.


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Appendix A: Conceptual Model of Collaborative Ideation


Appendix B: Context of Dutch Science Parks

Number of parks per stage

Growth*

Idea 12 plus 4

Startup 9 minus 1

Growth 10 plus 2

Maturity 8 plus 1

Total 39 plus 6

*Growth = absolute value from 2012 to 2014 in number of parks per stage

Average growth of parks

per stage

medio 2012 medio 2014 Groei

Number of companies 1506 1709 +13,5%

Number of jobs 33824 41448 +22,5%

Number of spin offs 646 827 +28,0%


Appendix C: Framework of Dutch Science Parks

Dimension Explanation Source

1. Physical high quality

business locations and

research facilities

Availability of physical space that offers high quality

residential options for knowledge-intensive activity and

for (sharing) lab, cleanroom and testing facilities

Buck

Consultants

International

(2014)

2. Focus on R&D /

innovation activities

To achieve innovation, joint product development and

exchange of knowledge, the focus should be on R&D

and/ or knowledge-intensive activities

Buck

Consultants

International

(2014)

3. Manifest knowledge

carrier

A large manifest knowledge carrier is physically and

substantially present with research activities and forms

the "anchor tenant" on campus. Type of knowledge

carriers are an R&D center of a large international

company, (technical) college, university medical center/

hospital, large research institute. Manifest means that

the company/ institution has a substantial size and

reputation on a specific topic or technology

Buck

Consultants

International

(2014)

4. Active open innovation

A dedicated open innovation organization is present

which is engaged in partnerships within and outside the

campus, knowledge transfer, knowledge transfer,

networking, business development and acquisition of

companies

Buck

Consultants

International

(2014)


Appendix D: Summary data respondents

No. Respondent category Respondent function Development stage

01 Government Program director Idea or startup

02 Government Project manager Idea or startup

03 Government Campus manager Growth or mature

04 Government Marketing & Communications director Growth or mature

05 Industry - 1 - Startup Automation engineer Idea or startup

06 Industry - 1 - Startup Founder & technical director Idea or startup

07 Industry - 1 - Startup Founder Growth or mature

08 Industry - 1 - Startup Founder & technical director Growth or mature

09 Industry - 2 - Large company Maintenance & Reliability manager Idea or startup

10 Industry - 2 - Large company Technology & Innovation director Idea or startup

11 Industry - 2 - Large company Managing director Growth or mature

12 Industry - 2 - Large company Senior Director Business Excellence Growth or mature

13 Education or Research Institute Senior Lecturer Maintenance & Reliability Idea or startup

14 Education or Research Institute Senior manager new business development Idea or startup

15 Education or Research Institute Senior Business Developer Growth or mature

16 Education or Research Institute Managing director Growth or mature

17 Pilot interviewee Senior consultant n.a.

18 Pilot interviewee Cross-industry & creativity expert n.a.

19 Government Projectmanager Idea or startup


Appendix E: Interview invitation to respondents

Tilburg, April 20, 2015

~ The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas – Linus Pauling ~

Dear Sir / Madam,

Let me first introduce myself to you. My name is Lotte Geertsen and I'm currently working on

finishing my master's in the direction strategy and innovation at the Free University of Amsterdam.

In my thesis, I conduct research on the way the process of 'ideation' is facilitated in the context of a

(innovation) campus. A campus is characterized by a strong clustering of knowledge and R&D, where

public and private parties together give meaning to the open innovation model and to do so - with the

use of private and public resources - collaborate in collective projects and programs and invest in joint

sharing of both physical and service facilities (facility sharing and shared service centers).

Collaborative ideation is perceived by many campus organizations as an important activity to feed the

'innovation funnel' with ideas, new product concepts and technological challenges.

In my thesis, I examine which approaches and tools are used to facilitate the process of ideation within

a campus. This can be done by, among other options, enabling 'casual encounters' but also by

organizing 'ideation events' and / or using online communities and collaborative workspaces.

At four innovation campuses in the Netherlands I want to conduct semi-structured in-depth interviews

in which an established framework drawn on 'collaborative ideation' is tested and complemented with

applications from practice. This provides an improved framework with useful tools, techniques,

methods to organize the interaction between 'residents' and other stakeholders systematically in order

to maximize the yield of (collaborative) ideation. In the appendix of this letter you will find an

overview of the campuses I will examine and an overview of the different categories of respondents I

will interview.

I like to hear from you if I may contact you to schedule an interview. Thank you in advance for your

response. You can reach me by telephone: 06 33,660,848 or e-mail: [email protected].

Sincerely,

Lotte Geertsen

T: +31(0) 6 336 60 848

E: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


Appendix F: Interview questions to respondents

Question Dimensions

WHY:

Benefits

Why do you use collaborative ideation? - direct benefits

- indirect benefits

WHEN:

Conditions

When do you use collaborative ideation? - Internal resources

- External resources

HOW:

Strategies

How do you use collaborative ideation? - Mode of revealing

- Goal

WHAT:

Mechanisms

What do you use during collaborative

ideation?

- Collective attention

- Enacting ideas

- Building on similarities


Appendix G: Results analysis

Analysis displayed per Science Park





Analysis displayed per perspective


