Internal Open Innovation—Lessons Learned from Internal Crowdsourcing at SAP

Abstract

Crowdsourcing provides companies with access to widespread knowledge pools and constitutes a well-established inbound open innovation practice. More recently, some companies have introduced the approach of open innovation within their company boundaries. Using internal crowdsourcing (IC), companies can apply open innovation principles to overcome information silos. Multinational corporations often have thousands of employees around the globe, embedded in divisions and virtually separated from each other. Although a large proportion of companies nowadays use social IT to mitigate problems of distance, only a few companies can access their employees’ wisdom effectively—let alone efficiently. With almost 100,000 employees worldwide, SAP possesses significant resources, which IC can help to unlock and develop. In this business case study, we report the findings of our investigation of five IC implementations at SAP. Based on interviews and secondary data, we analyze the process and related governance tasks of the different IC approaches. The applications for IC range from the search for new and sustainable business models to an approach that uses crowdsourcing for the competence development of SAP’s employees. Our paper contributes to our understanding of open innovation and crowdsourcing by conceptualizing IC as a form of internal open innovation. Further, from our observations, we derive six lessons learned to support managers in implementing and executing IC initiatives successfully. Our findings will subsequently help managers to increase the innovation capabilities of their companies, create more sustainable business models, further the entrepreneurial mindset of their employees and thus provide a competitive advantage.

Employee behaviours beyond innovators in internal crowdsourcing: What do employees do in internal crowdsourcing, if not innovating, and why?

“…However, recent studies highlight that crowdsourcing can also be applied internally to channel the ideas and expertise of firms' own employees (Malhotra et al, 2017; Zuchowski et al, 2016). Internal crowdsourcing enables firms to bridge intraorganizational boundaries and involve a larger crowd of employees beyond R&D in ideation activities (Pohlisch, 2020). It thus differs from traditional innovation practices because it entails self‐selection, as the wider crowd of employees can voluntarily decide to participate in ideation beyond their formal work responsibilities (Malhotra et al, 2017).…”

The Impact of Big Data Technical Skills on Novel Business Model Innovation Based on the Role of Resource Integration and Environmental Uncertainty

“…As an important technical resource, big data technical skills can enhance the ability of enterprises to acquire, integrate, and process data, assist enterprises to capture valuable information from disordered big data [54], and enhance the open innovation capability of enterprises [55,56]. Open innovation can not only provide more opportunities for enterprises to eliminate information islands [57,58], but it can also promote knowledge transfer and scientific and technological cooperation among enterprises, open up a new path of technological innovation [59], reduce innovation costs [60], and improve the ability of enterprises to meet market demand [61]. Therefore, technological innovation is an important influencing factor for business model innovation within enterprises [62], and it provides important support for business model innovation within enterprises.…”

Digitalization and corporate transformation: The case of European oil & gas firms

“…Companies are also increasingly implementing internal open innovation or internal crowdsourcing initiatives, leveraging internal knowledge that may not be easily accessible due to information silos (Pohlisch, 2020). These initiatives help companies develop new emergent strategies, find new solutions to business challenges and open up new sources of innovation (Malhotra et al, 2017 Christensen and Raynor (2003), in a seminal work about innovation, argued that most internal innovations and transformations failed not for technological or market-driven reasons, but rather because these businesses or initiatives were given to managers or organizations whose capabilities were not up to the task.…”