Towards Open Innovation in Universities: Fostering the Inside-Out-Process Using Ideas Competitions

Abstract

This paper demonstrates how IT-supported ideas competitions can be implemented within universities. In the context of open innovation, ideas competitions are used as a customer integration method serving companies as a profound basis for the leveraging of innovative ideas within innovation development. However, ideas competitions can also foster the inside-out activities of universities by means of encouraging students to develop innovative ideas which build the basis for the foundation of new businesses. By adopting the theoretical account proposed by Malone et al. (2010) as well as related work on ideas competitions, we comprise the various dimensions regarding the consummation of ideas competitions on university level. We then introduce a case study, which highlights the potentials of ideas competitions within university field. The case study shows that intra-university ideas competitions allow universities to stimulate the creativity of their students as well as to enhance inside-out activities.

Keywords: ideas competitions, education contests, open innovation, crowdsourcing, collective intelligence