Evolve or Be Extinct
Current and Future Models of Open Innovation from the 2021 World’s Corporate Startup Stars
Annually we analyze how Fortune 500/Forbes 2000 companies, i.e. the largest established companies on planet Earth, interact with the world of disruptors, i.e. the startups and scaleups. In this Report we wrapped up the main evidence emerging from the data we collected providing in depth data points and trends. Nevertheless, here are the two main trends and lesson learned clearly emerging from the analysis. There is no silver bullet in the Open Innovation arena, rather multiple complementary approaches and models targeting different goals and innovation horizons.
- Corporate Startup Stars tend to implement a mix of actions, creating significant value for startups and their wider ecosystems — on domestic, regional and global levels. Just a few of the Fortune 500 companies cover the full spectrum of initiatives and none are focused on just a few of them. Corporates need to run multiple innovation actions at the same time. They can’t reach different goals with the same tool.
- The Open Innovation arena is rapidly evolving. On the one hand, performing tools and models are becoming increasingly obsolete, and thus restructured or dismissed by companies. On the other hand, fresh new approaches are constantly emerging. Companies need to continuously benchmark and assess the open innovation initiatives they run and get ready to adjust and change. Nobody can innovate with out-of-date tools.
