Managing unsolicited ideas for R&D

Oliver Alexy, Paola Criscuolo, Ammon Salter

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

62 Scopus citations

Abstract

Existing academic and popular literature suggests that unsolicited ideas, the non-contractual and voluntary submission of innovation-related information from external sources to the firm, offer the promise of a bountiful and low-cost tool to sustain and extend firms' R&D efforts. Yet, in practice, many organizations find it difficult to deal with unsolicited ideas because of high quantity, low quality, and the need to transfer IP ownership. This article identifes a range of practices that allow organizations to meet these challenges and therefore realize some of the potential of unsolicited ideas for R&D.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)116-139
Number of pages24
JournalCalifornia Management Review
Volume54
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2012
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Innovation management
  • Intellectual property
  • Technological innovation

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Managing unsolicited ideas for R&D'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this