Title: Closed-open innovation strategy for autonomous vehicle development

Authors: Marlous Blankesteijn; Frank De Jong; Bart Bossink

Addresses: Faculty of Beta Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, Netherlands ' Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, Netherlands ' Faculty of Beta Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Abstract: The automobile industry is faced with societal and market pressures to develop radically innovative cars for the future. The development of the autonomous vehicle (AV) is a strategic innovation in this area. This paper studies whether and how AV-innovation strategies at Tesla, BMW and Toyota are developed by using an open and/or closed innovation paradigm. More than ever, it appears that R&D departments of car manufacturers employ a combination of a closed and an open innovation strategy. In order to nurture their AV innovation strategy, they strategically decide which innovations to adopt from outside, and which parts of the R&D process to keep in-house. This paper presents and discusses the combined closed-open AV-innovation strategies used by three dominant car producers. It provides an insight in how they aim to gain a first-to-market position and sustainable competitive advantage in a new market segment of a highly saturated market.

Keywords: autonomous vehicles; AV; open innovation; R&D management; automotive industry.

DOI: 10.1504/IJATM.2019.098507

International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management, 2019 Vol.19 No.1/2, pp.74 - 103

Received: 29 Mar 2018
Accepted: 16 Oct 2018
Published online: 25 Mar 2019 *

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