What Is Open Innovation?

What if the next breakthrough idea for your business did not come from your internal team – but from the outside?

For too long now, innovation has been seen as a phenomenon to be protected – driven by internal research and development teams, preserved by patents and bound by sometimes unfair contracts. Imagine a new paradigm – where innovation thrives not only behind closed doors but also in a wider ecosystem of partners –scholars, customers, suppliers, startups, and even competitors.

Welcome to the Open Innovation mindset – where the core is that extraordinary ideas and technologies can emanate from anywhere, and leveraging them together can foster innovation, streamline costs, and enhance market responsiveness.

Open Innovation, first coined as a term by Henry Chesbrough, recognizes that internal resources are not enough to stay competitive in today’s rapidly changing world. It opens pathways of knowledge across organizational boundaries, allowing ideas to flow both inbound and outbound.

This strategy offers considerable advantages. It allows companies to access a wider range of expertise and resources, accelerating innovation while reducing costs and time. Collaborating externally provides crucial market insights, leading to more applicable products and services.

Why Open Innovation Is More Crucial than Ever?

An Open Innovation approach implies that it is imperative for organizations and their leaders to be open minded, embrace dialogue, and be adept to trusting other organizations while co-creating solutions and strategies that deliver shared value for stakeholders.

It requires positive and forward-looking leaders, bold enough to envision positive change and progress that go beyond the immediate interest of its own organization. Open innovation offers a powerful pathway to propel positive impact on the planet. By transcending organizational limits and fostering collaboration, it seeks to address complex global challenges that no single entity can solve alone. This proves to be especially beneficial to develop efficient solutions in critical areas like healthcare, environmental sustainability, and social equity.

In the contemporary world – where conflict is manifested, and profit is prioritized, Open Innovation is the need of the hour, to create real impact.

Is it a matter of chance that the last of the Sustainable Development Goals revolves around partnerships – or is collaboration the driving force behind every goal turning into reality?

Why Does EHL Recognise Open Innovation as the Ethos of Future Hospitality?

Schools and educational institutes provide the ideal playing field for open innovation to take root and flourish. They provide an environment that nurtures young minds, challenges the status quo and upholds trust and collaboration.

Do we truly aspire to have a global impact?

Then an international community is the best living laboratory where ideas are born global by default. It is here where the obstacles faced are not local, but global, making collaboration intrinsic to oneself.

The cherry on the cake?

Hospitality and Servant leadership attitudes are a prerequisite to equip Open Innovation projects and initiatives amongst stakeholders with assurance, partnership and hence paving the way to success and efficiency.

Does this suggest that EHL is uniquely positioned to cultivate an Open Innovation ecosystem – one that not only drives progress but also creates a meaningful impact for people and society?

Yes – but more than that we see this as a responsibility. A responsibility to better leverage our talents, our global network and our resources to make a tangible contribution to the world.

By actively engaging with industry experts, startups, and local communities, we are committed to co-creating solutions that enhance the industry while reducing environmental impact, promote responsible behavior, and empower local economies. Through Open Innovation challenges that target critical issues like that of waste reduction, energy efficiency, and ethical sourcing – we are not only generating ideas but also developing practical and implementable solutions for the industry.

We actively seek partnerships across the corporate world, public administration and social enterprises space to develop business models that incorporate profit with purpose, creating positive social impact while delivering sustainable economic value. Our goal is to not only drive innovation but also advance towards a world that builds a more inclusive and responsible future.

By engaging with technology partners, designers, and customers, we explore novel ways to elevate the guest experience, personalize services, and harness technology to improve efficiency and sustainability. Open Innovation facilitates the development of innovative solutions that redefine the future of hospitality, extending far beyond its borders.

At its very core, innovation must remain human centric. It is not just about technology, but about addressing human needs with purpose and empathy. EHL advocates this mindset, placing human centricity at the heart of innovation – building bridges between founders, innovators visionaries and global partners – transforming ideas into lasting impact. Where should we put our joint efforts to build a better future, if not into creating innovation that serve people?