利努斯·達蘭德 馬丁·沃林 劉棋文

Amidst the gloom and doom of the early months of the Covid-19 crisis， something surprisingly uplifting started to happen： Companies began to come together to work openly at an unprecedented level， putting the ability to create value before the opportunity to make a buck. The German multinational Siemens， for instance， opened up its Additive Manufacturing Network1 to anyone who needs help in medical device design.

Collaboration can obviously save human lives， but it can also produce huge benefits for companies—even though its often overlooked in normal circumstances. For more than a decade， weve studied open innovation and have taught thousands of executives and students how to innovate in a more distributed， decentralized and participatory way. The classroom response is usually， “My company needs more of this！” But despite the enthusiasm， companies rarely follow through. We have also witnessed how companies have used hackathons2 and other forms of open innovation to generate heaps of creative ideas that never reach the point of implementation， leading to frustration among employees and partners. At many companies this kind of distributed， decentralized， and participatory way of innovating remains an ambition that hasnt yet come true.

The recent burst of open innovation， however， reminds us of the massive potential that open innovation comes with—whether youre in a crisis or not. Open innovation has the potential to widen the space for value creation： It allows for many more ways to create value， be it through new partners with complementary skills or by unlocking hidden potential in long-lasting relationships. In a crisis， open innovation can help organizations find new ways to solve pressing problems and at the same time build a positive reputation. Most importantly it can serve as a foundation for future collaboration—in line with sociological research demonstrating that trust develops when partners voluntarily go the extra mile3， providing unexpected favors to each other.

While concerns over intellectual property， return on investments， and various unforeseen consequences of open innovation are all valid， what we are experiencing now is an opportunity to innovate through and beyond the crisis. We have discovered a number of lessons that can help companies to not only take advantage of open innovation during the Covid-19 crisis， but to embrace open innovation once the pandemic is over.

Forget about the IP for the moment

Earlier research has found that many companies are extremely worried about value “l(fā)eaking” from collaborations with outsiders. As a result， they often stick to their knitting4 and collaborate on a few peripheral tasks， but not on the most important business issues. They wouldnt reveal what their most critical problems entailed， as that could endanger future patenting. Instead the innovation partnerships slipped into irrelevance.

These intellectual property concerns are of course real and important， but they risk blocking any open innovation initiative from gaining momentum. However， during the Covid-19 crisis it could be wise to focus more on creating value than capturing value.

Leverage two-sided motivation

As the initial open innovation enthusiasm has settled， companies often realize that they rely on voluntary and active participation of employees and partners to succeed—traditional means of command and control have little reach. Instead companies need to rely on a combination of hard and soft incentives to motivate internal and external collaborators. Companies need to identify—and respond to—their partners true motivation.

Embrace new partners

A common challenge in open innovation is to take on new partners. New partners always entail costs in terms of search， validation， and compliance， as well as the forming of new social relationships between people. And we know that when it comes to big thorny problems like Covid-19， new partners are necessary to provide complementary skills and perspectives.

The massive scale of the Covid-19 crisis may have alleviated5 these challenges in at least two ways. First， top management has assumed a lot of the risk associated with new partners， by sending strong messages that open innovation is the way to go.

Second， not only the spread of the virus has grown exponentially6 but the pool7 of potential partners as well. When companies across the globe are affected by the same crisis， and many are searching for new ways to conduct business， a combinatorial exercise suggests that there are many better partners available now than a month ago. A crisis can prompt companies to explore a greater number and even new kinds of partners. Preserving some of that open-minded attitude towards new partners after the crisis can help companies stay on top of innovation.

Urgency leads transformation

The initial steps towards open innovation in “normal times” are relatively simple. For example， hire some consultants， set up an innovation tournament， wait for ideas to come in. The results though are usually quite meager8. To fully reap the rewards from open innovation， companies need to recognize the transformational challenge ahead. These initiatives are often the tip of the iceberg， and successful open innovation often requires operational and structural changes to how business is done. Such changes are difficult for any one employee， team， or even business unit to undertake.

In a time of crisis， the necessary executive focus is suddenly there. Smart companies seize this opportunity to rethink their innovation infrastructure. Perhaps our own sector， higher education， could stand as a beacon of hope that open innovation can work on a truly grand scale—and that a conservative sector can change. Many of us were told that classes starting the day after had to be replaced by digital alternatives. Much was left for individual teachers to figure out， but university presidents sent reassuring messages endorsing experimentation and clearing bureaucratic hurdles. In the past few weeks， academics across the globe have been collaborating， sharing tips， tricks， teaching plans， and experiences to turn an often slow-moving colossus9 into an agile digital sprinter10. It shows that often the biggest barrier to successful open innovation is simply the reticence11 to commit to it.

Looking ahead

These are promising developments. But to what extent will these observations hold true in the future？ As business will one day go back to normal， how many of the altered ways of innovating will stick inside companies？ And how will we as a society face other grand challenges， such as global warming， that are no longer looming on the horizon12 but are already here？ We hope that the worlds response to the novel coronavirus has taught us that a truly shared experience of a common enemy can unlock the speed， strength and creativity needed to address even the greatest challenges.

For managers， an important reflection is to think about what needs to be delivered after the crisis. A big crisis often alters the behavior of customers， employees， and partners. Perhaps you have reason to believe the customer preferences will stay the same， but often they do not. Having established new ways of doing open innovation during a crisis can then bring much-needed flexibility and， in the end， secure the companys viability. Dont waste those experiences by planning for how to get back to the old normal. Plan for a new normal.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ■

在新冠肺炎危機最初幾個月的悲觀絕望中，一件出乎意外卻令人振奮的事情開始出現(xiàn)：各個公司開始以前所未有的開放態(tài)度合作，首先考慮創(chuàng)造價值的能力，然后才是賺錢的機會。例如，德國跨國公司西門子將其“增材制造網(wǎng)絡”開放給了所有在醫(yī)療器械設計方面需要幫助的人。

合作顯然可以挽救人的生命，但也可為公司帶來巨大利益——盡管正常情況下它常遭到忽視。十多年來，我們一直在研究開放式創(chuàng)新，教會了成千上萬名主管和學生如何進行分布式、分散式和參與式創(chuàng)新。課堂上的反應通常是：“我的公司需要更多這樣的東西！”然而，盡管熱情高漲，但罕有公司能堅持到底。我們還目睹了某些公司利用黑客馬拉松和其他形式的開放式創(chuàng)新，激發(fā)了大量創(chuàng)意，卻從未真正實施，從而令員工和合作伙伴失意沮喪。在許多公司，這種分布式、分散式、參與式的創(chuàng)新仍是一個尚未實現(xiàn)的雄心而已。

然而，開放式創(chuàng)新最近的迸發(fā)提醒我們，無論是否處于危機之中，它都擁有巨大潛力。開放式創(chuàng)新有可能拓寬價值創(chuàng)造的空間：無論是依靠技能互補的新合作伙伴，還是釋放長期合作關系尚未挖掘的潛力，它讓企業(yè)得以有更多方式創(chuàng)造價值。面對危機時，開放式創(chuàng)新可以幫助企業(yè)找到新方法解決緊迫問題，同時建立良好聲譽。最重要的是，它能鋪墊未來的合作——社會學研究表明，當合作伙伴自愿付出更多，為彼此提供意想不到的幫助時，信任感就會提升。

雖然對開放式創(chuàng)新中的知識產(chǎn)權（IP）、投資回報和各種意外結果的擔憂不無道理，但我們現(xiàn)在面對的是一個在危機中和危機過后創(chuàng)新的機會。我們已發(fā)現(xiàn)許多經(jīng)驗教訓，可以幫助公司不僅在新冠肺炎危機期間利用開放式創(chuàng)新，而且還能在疫情結束后接納它。

暫時忘掉IP

早期研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，許多公司非常擔心與外部合作會導致價值“泄漏”。因此，他們往往固守主業(yè)，在少數(shù)外圍任務上開展合作，而在最重要的商業(yè)問題上并不會合作。他們不會透露其最關鍵難題所在，因為這可能危及未來的專利。創(chuàng)新伙伴關系反而變得無關緊要。

當然，對知識產(chǎn)權的擔憂是真實且重要的，但它們可能阻礙開放式創(chuàng)新計劃得到發(fā)展。然而，在新冠肺炎危機期間，明智之舉是將更多精力放在創(chuàng)造價值上，而不是獲取價值上。

利用雙重激勵

隨著最初對開放式創(chuàng)新的熱忱逐漸消退，公司往往意識到，成功取決于員工和合作伙伴自愿和積極的參與，傳統(tǒng)的命令和控制手段收效甚微。相反，公司需要結合軟硬性獎勵來激勵內外部合作者，還要識別合作伙伴的真實動機并對其作出回應。

接納新合作伙伴

開放式創(chuàng)新中的一個常見挑戰(zhàn)是接納新合作伙伴。尋找、確認和達成一致，以及人與人之間建立新的社會關系，這些涉及新合作伙伴的方面總是需要成本。我們知道，在面對新冠肺炎等重大棘手問題時，需要新合作伙伴提供互補的技能和視角。

大規(guī)模的新冠肺炎危機或許至少在兩方面緩解了這些挑戰(zhàn)。首先，高層管理人員明確表示開放式創(chuàng)新是必由之路，從而承擔了與新合作伙伴相關的許多風險。

其次，病毒傳播呈指數(shù)級增長的同時，潛在的合作伙伴也在快速增加。當全球的公司都受到同一場危機的影響，并且許多公司都在尋找新的方式開展業(yè)務時，一次聯(lián)合操作表明，相比于一個月前，現(xiàn)在有許多更好的合作伙伴。危機促使公司尋求更多甚至是新型的合作伙伴。危機過后，一定程度上維持對新合作伙伴的開放態(tài)度，可以幫助公司保持創(chuàng)新的領先地位。

緊迫感引領變革

在“正常時期”，邁出開放式創(chuàng)新的步伐相對簡單。例如，聘請一些顧問，舉辦一場創(chuàng)新比賽，等待創(chuàng)意的出現(xiàn)。不過，其結果通常都很糟糕。為了從開放式創(chuàng)新中充分獲取回報，公司需要認識到橫亙前方的轉型挑戰(zhàn)。以上種種舉措往往只是冰山一角，成功的開放式創(chuàng)新通常需要對業(yè)務模式進行運營和結構上的調整。做出這些改變對任何一個員工、團隊，甚或業(yè)務部門來說都很難。

危機期間，必要的管理重點突然出現(xiàn)。明智的公司抓住這個機會重新考量自己的創(chuàng)新基礎設施?；蛟S我們自己的領域，即高等教育領域，可以作為希望的燈塔，標志著開放式創(chuàng)新能真正大規(guī)模地發(fā)揮作用，標志著保守的領域也可以改變。我們許多老師得知次日開始的課程必須換為數(shù)字課程。教師個人要解決很多問題，但大學校長們發(fā)出了讓人心安的消息：支持創(chuàng)新實驗，并清除各種官僚主義障礙。過去幾周，全球的學者一直在合作，分享建議、技巧、教學計劃和經(jīng)驗，把一個往往慢吞吞的巨人變成敏捷的數(shù)字短跑運動員。這表明開放式創(chuàng)新成功的最大障礙常常就是拒絕去做。

展望未來

這些都是前景可期的進展。但這些觀點未來在多大程度上會仍然適用昵？業(yè)務終有一天回歸正常，這些已改變的創(chuàng)新方式有多少會在公司內保留下來？我們整個社會將如何面對諸如全球變暖的重大挑戰(zhàn)？這些挑戰(zhàn)已不是欲來的風雨，而是業(yè)已到來。我們希望，世界對新冠病毒的應對已讓我們明白：真正做到同仇敵愾，就能釋放出相應的速度、力量和創(chuàng)造力來應對即使最大的挑戰(zhàn)。

對管理者來說，一個重要的反思是危機過后應該做什么。一場大危機往往會改變客戶、員工和合作伙伴的行為。也許您有理由相信客戶的偏好會保持不變，但往往并非如此。如果在危機期間建立起了開放式創(chuàng)新的新方式，我們就會擁有迫切需要的靈活性，并最終確保公司的生存能力。不要規(guī)劃如何回到過去的常態(tài)，從而浪費了這些經(jīng)歷。為新常態(tài)規(guī)劃吧。 ? ? □

（譯者單位：江西師范大學外國語學院）