Title: Innovation and strategic advantage: lessons from open source

Authors: Alfred H. Essa

Addresses: Associate Vice Chancellor, Deputy CIO Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, USA

Abstract: In a dynamic and global market, innovation will increasingly become the core determinant of the success and failure of firms. As useful knowledge becomes more pervasive, the logic that supported manufacturer-centric and centralised approaches to innovation has begun to break down and is being replaced or supplemented by user-centric and decentralised approaches to innovation. Open source development provides important management lessons regarding the most effective ways to structure and implement innovation. When viewed through the lens of innovation processes, open source development is representative of a broader and more fundamental shift in how firms can generate new ideas and bring them to market.

Keywords: open source software; innovation; strategy; open innovation; sustainability; sustainable development; strategic advantage.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCEELL.2007.013226

International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning, 2007 Vol.17 No.1, pp.3 - 14

Published online: 12 Apr 2007 *

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