Open Innovation (OI) has become a powerful strategy for accelerating research, increasing agility, and tapping into a global pool of experts, startups, and ideas. Yet despite its growing adoption, many organisations still struggle to make OI deliver measurable impact.
Why?
Because the biggest challenges aren’t technological—they’re cultural, organisational, and operational.
Below are the four primary barriers that repeatedly block Open Innovation initiatives, along with practical guidance to overcome them and unlock the full value of collaborative innovation.
1. The “Not Invented Here” Syndrome
Perhaps the most well-known barrier to Open Innovation is the Not Invented Here (NIH) syndrome—the mindset that “If we didn’t develop it ourselves, it’s not good enough.”
This resistance can come from:
- R&D teams who see external ideas as threats
- Managers who equate internal development with control
- Experts who feel that outside solutions diminish their expertise
- Organisations with a long history of self-reliance
NIH is often emotional, not rational. It rests on fear—fear of losing ownership, fear of being replaced, or fear that external work won’t meet internal standards.
Why NIH is harmful ?
- It slows down innovation cycles
- It wastes resources by duplicating existing knowledge
- It blocks access to world-class expertise
- It reinforces silo-thinking and internal biases
What good practice looks like ?
Companies that overcome NIH actively celebrate external contributions—treating them as accelerators, not threats. They train teams to collaborate, not compete, with the outside world.
2. Unreasonable or Unrealistic Expectations
Open Innovation thrives when organisations pose ambitious yet solvable challenges.
But OI fails when:
- Questions are too vague (“What should our future strategy be?”)
- Challenges are too broad (“How do we stop climate change?”)
- Expectations are unrealistic (“Is the universe finite or infinite?”)
- Timelines don’t match the complexity of the problem
- Companies expect a perfect, ready-to-deploy solution overnight
The result is frustration on all sides—internally and externally.
Why framing matters ?
OI is not a magic wand. It is a method for solving complex but tractable problems by mobilising diverse perspectives. The better the question, the better the answer.
Guiding principle
Your challenge should be:
- Ambitious enough to attract attention
- Specific enough to guide contributors
- Realistic enough to be solvable with collaborative intelligence
Think: “How can we reduce lithium usage in EV batteries by 30%?”—not “Reinvent the car.”
3. Fear and Confusion Around Intellectual Property
Intellectual property (IP) concerns are one of the most practical inhibitors of Open Innovation.
Organisations often struggle with:
- Fear of losing proprietary knowledge
- Unclear rules about what can be shared externally
- Worries about “contaminating” internal IP
- Legal uncertainty around co-developed solutions
- Difficulty valuing external contributions
These fears are legitimate—but they should not become excuses for avoiding OI.
Why IP concerns arise ?
Open Innovation sits at the intersection of:
- external knowledge
- internal trade secrets
- shared workspaces
- collaborative development
Without clear frameworks, risk quickly overshadows opportunity.
What good practice looks like ?
Leaders define IP-safe zones, standard agreements, and transparent processes from the start. OI contributors know:
- what information is shared
- what remains protected
- how ownership is allocated
- how licensing and revenue are handled
Clear rules reduce fear and empower collaboration.
4. Poor Handover Between External Solutions and Internal Capabilities
Many organisations succeed in finding external ideas—but fail in implementing them.
This “last mile problem” can occur when:
- Teams don’t understand how to integrate external knowledge
- No internal owner is assigned to champion the solution
- Skills required to adopt the solution are missing internally
- Budgets for implementation are unavailable
- The solution contradicts existing processes or priorities
- External collaborators are excluded once the idea enters execution
The result?
Great ideas die before they ever reach the customer.
Why it happens ?
OI often involves different people than those responsible for operations. Without a structured handover, solutions fall into the gap between discovery and deployment.
What good practice looks like ?
Successful organisations build integration pathways—ensuring that every external insight is matched with:
- An internal sponsor
- A clear implementation owner
- Resources, training, and budget
- A roadmap to scale
Open Innovation is only valuable when it leads to real-world impact.
How to Overcome These Four Barriers ?
Despite these challenges, companies across industries—from pharmaceuticals to mobility to energy—have succeeded in making Open Innovation a core capability. Their best practices can be summarised into four actionable strategies:
1. Build a Culture of Openness
- Reward collaboration, not just internal invention
- Highlight success stories involving external partners
- Develop training that reframes OI as an enabler
2. Frame Challenges Carefully
Use the SMARTO rule for OI challenges:
Specific – Meaningful – Ambitious – Relevant – Trackable – Open to multiple solutions.
3. Establish Clear IP Governance
- Define what can (and cannot) be shared
- Use standardised OI agreements
- Provide teams with legal guidance early
- Adopt safe digital platforms that protect confidentiality
4. Create an Implementation Pathway
- Assign internal sponsors for each external solution
- Build multidisciplinary integration teams
- Provide onboarding for external contributors
- Ensure budget and capability for scale-up
Conclusion: Turning Barriers into Strengths
Open Innovation succeeds when organisations are:
- Open to external ideas
- Realistic about what can be achieved
- Clear about IP boundaries
- Prepared to absorb external solutions internally
These four barriers are common—but they are not insurmountable. Companies that address them proactively see faster R&D cycles, richer ecosystems, and dramatically more innovative outcomes.
If you’d like to discuss how to overcome these barriers in your organisation—or explore practical tools and methods for structuring Open Innovation—we’d be happy to continue the conversation !
