MG418      Half Unit
Open Innovation

This information is for the 2025/26 session.

Course Convenor

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We are entering a liminal space—a transitional era where technology is actively rewriting the rules of society. Living intelligence systems are emerging—capable of outthinking, outworking, and perhaps even outsmarting us. This moment brings with it tremendous opportunities, but also a looming crisis of human purpose, passion, and drive. Amid the uncertainty—yet with the certainty that radical change is underway—we are still being asked to do what humans have always done: to innovate.  

Open innovation is a fresh take on innovation whereby a firm looks beyond its boundaries to exploit the creative power of users, communities, and customers to co-develop new products, services, and processes. Whether it is the fortune 500 companies that have used open innovation to transform their businesses (e.g. Proctor and Gamble and IBM) or even start-ups (such as iStock Photo); Open Innovation, through tools like crowdsourcing or open sourcing is disrupting markets and altering the nature of industries. 
 
This course is divided into two, a lecture stream and a project stream. 
 
During the lecture stream (roughly 5 weeks of the course) students will: 

1. Learn about the emergence of OI and how OI differs from other sources of external innovation. 
2. Learn to differentiate between the different types of OI tools (Crowdsourcing, Lead Users, Innovation Intermediaries, Design intermediaries, Innomediaries, Open Source) and to choose the right OI tool for different problem sets. 
3. Explore an emerging range of companies using open business models (e.g. Google, Facebook) in contrast to more traditional business approaches. 
4. Learn about the challenges of implementing OI and the drivers of success, not only based on practitioner sources but also in the context of organisational behaviour, innovation, and network theory. 
5. Learn about solutions to OI challenges like ambidexterity and business model innovation. 

During the project stream (roughly 5 weeks of the course) students work on a real live OI project developing solutions via the implementation of one or more open innovation tools. Typical project partners/clients include- Sunrise, Credit Suisse, Mastercard, KPMG, Google, ABB. In addition to faculty support, these five weeks will also involve guidance from our Innovation partners (which in the past included consultants from companies like Ludic Group, KPMG and Eidos). 

30 hours of lectures in the Winter Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.

Total of 40 contact hours in the WT 

There are no seminars for this course, the additional 10 hours will comprise:  

• Three 30-minute group sessions to help refine the scope of the project and develop the innovative solution. 
• An introduction to your project session which lasts approximately 1 hour. This is usually held after class in the 4th week of the semester. But further details will be provided. 
• An extended dress rehearsal at the end of the term where the student teams will exhibit their progress and will get feedback from the faculty team. 

Students will be allocated to teams to undertake an Open Innovation consulting project. Whilst some class time is allocated to help teams progress their projects, as with any group project, student teams are expected to work independently beyond class times on their projects. 

In its Ethics Code, LSE upholds a commitment to intellectual freedom. This means we will protect the freedom of expression of our students and staff and the right to engage in healthy debate in the classroom. 

Student groups will be expected to produce a presentation outlining the progress made on their consulting project, at the end of the WT for faculty review and feedback.

Additionally, a formative essay question will be provided for those wishing to practice essay writing.

• Chesbrough, H.W. (2003). Open Innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology. Boston: Harvard Business School Press (chapter 1-3).
• Brabham, D. (2008). Moving the crowd at iStockphoto: The composition of the crowd and motivations for participation in a crowdsourcing application First Monday, 13.
• Fredberg, T., Elmquist, M. & Ollila, S. (2008) Managing Open Innovation: Present Findings and Future Directions, Vinnova VR 2008:02.
• Raffi Amit, C. Zott (2012), Creating value through business model innovation, Sloan Management Review, 53 (3), 41 - 49.
• Tushman, M. L. and O’Reilly, C. A. (1996) ‘Ambidextrous Organizations: Managing Evolutionary and Revolutionary Change’, California Management Review, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 8-30.

Course participation (20%)

Quiz (20%)

Project (60%)

Participation is assessed through involvement in lectures, engagement in interactive project sessions, and the completion of two short reflective pieces.

The group project assessment comprises a pre-recorded oral presentation and submission of PowerPoint slides with detailed appendices which provide evidence in support of your presentation. Student teams will also be expected to present to their clients/project sponsors. 

For detailed assessment information, including all deadlines and timings, please see the relevant course Moodle page. Assessment timings will be available at the start of each term.