blau_2007_philips tears down eindhoven r&d fence

8/4/2019 Blau_2007_Philips Tears Down Eindhoven R&D Fence

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thought of physics rather thanchemistry. Instead of using achemical additive, he suggestedputting a positive electrical charge onthe powder and then grounding thetube. That contribution and twoothersa method of purifyingsilicone-based solvents and a meansof controlling dust in the packagingof dry-wall powderhave earnedMelcarek $50,000 from gratefulcompanies.The potential for flnancial benefitgives scientists a strong reason tosign up with innovation brokers, orat least to check their web sitesregularly. But equally important isscientific curiosity. "Many scientistsparticipate because they enjoy theproblem-solving process," Lakh aniexplains. "It gives them theopportunity to try out their skills invery different processes."Scientists of varying abilities andlocations have grasped thatopportunity. "We have done businesswith Nobel laureates," Stirosrecounts. "When we started, most ofthe proposed solutions came from theUnited States, but now we're seeing alot from Eastern Europe and Asia.And we're seeing far more industryparticipation in the process asproviders of knowledge."What factors determine whether ornot a company participates in theprocess? "It's largely dependent onthe vision of the R&D manager,"Lakhani says. "Those whounderstand that this is an asset intheir portfolio will use it. But this isvery different from the typical waythat R&D management is taught."Like Internet DatingEven the most enthusiasticparticipants should realize that atechnical solution represents just thestart of a process. "It's very easy forinnovation managers and R&Dmanagers to say: 'Let's try this out; itwon't hurt because it won't be veryexpensive'," Nambisan explains. "Butwhen they start putting thesesolutions into their products, theyhave to address other issues. Mostcompanies don't have the capabilityto integrate the technology they

T e c h T a l kacquire from outside." Nambisanlikens the innovation communities toInternet dating services. "They onlyget you in touch with somebody," hesays. "They don't answer many ofthe other issues surrounding dating."Nambisan and co-author MohanbirSawhney, professor of technologyand director of NorthwesternUniversity's Center for Research inTechnology and Innovation, havewritten a book. The Global Brain:Your Roadmap to Innovating Fasterand Smarter in a Networked World,which Wharton School Publishingpublished in October. "It focuses onnetwork-centric innovation,"Nambisan says. "We focus on thecapabilities that companies wouldneed to have in-house to get somebenefit from this approach."

Peter Gwynne, contributingeditor, in Boston, M [email protected]

P h i l i p s T e a r s D o w nE i n d h e v e n R & D F e n c eDutch electronics giant Royal PhilipsElectronics is open for new ideas. Soopen, in fact, that the company hastorn down the fence around itscorporate R& D campus inEindhoven, Netherlands, to welcomeanyone with novel ideas to set upshop, share ideas and driveinnovation.Open access to researchersPhilips'own and othersis a key componentof the company's "open innovation"strategy. The consumer electronicsmanufacturer hatched the strategyseveral years ago after realizing itstraditional model of closed in-houseinnovation was blocking clever ideasfrom entering the company fromclever people outside. Since then.Philips has been vigorously lookinginside and outside its own labs forthe next revolutionary idea bycollaborating closely with innovatorsin organizations with complementaryinterests."We are creative enough that's notthe issue," said Theun Bailer, chiefoperations officer (COO) and generalmanager of Philips Research. "It's

NovemberDecember 2007

"Sometimes firms focus so hard onbuilding [market] share that they buildway beyond the true market for theirproducts."M/rS'/oan Schoolprofessor Rebecca Henderson, quoted i nThe Wall Street Journal, Sept. 5 , p . A2.

much more complex. We need allkinds of competencies in variousareas. Today, more than ever before,we need to work with groups inthose domains where we needadditional expertise."High Tech CampusPerhaps the most visible proof ofPhilips' commitment to openinnovation is the High Tech Campuslocated on its corporate research sitein Eindhoven, as well as its smallerInnovation Campus in Shanghai,China. The aim of these campusesand possibly new ones at Philips'other R&D sites is to create anenvironment that fosters interaction,networking and knowledge sharing,and ultimately to encourageparticipating research organizations,manufacturers and startups to jointlydevelop groundbreaking technologies."The idea is to build an innovationecosystem," said Bailer. "In the rightenvironment, people with good ideaswill find each other and cooperate."Established in 1999, the HighTech Campus consists of some30 buildings, with more than100,000 square meters of office spaceand 50,000 square m eters of labspace alongside Philips corporateR&D facilities. At the heart of thecampus is the Strip, whereconference rooms, restaurants andother facilities are available toresearchers, business developmentmanagers and other campusmembers to meet and share ideasand experiences.In addition, the campus includes8,000 square meters of clean-roomfacilities for microelectronicsdevelopment. The clean rooms,among the largest in the world, arepart of the Microsystems Plaza(MiPlaza) section of the campus,which offers a range of advancedequipment. The facilities, used by


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nearly two-thirds of all thecompanies and researchorganizations located on the campus,are also crucial to Philips for itsinternal strategic innovationprograms focused on materials anddevices for molecular medicine.Pre-Competitive ResearchThe campus has already attractedsome high-profile research institutes,such as the Dutch state-fundedinstitute for applied scientificresearch TNO (NederlandseOrganisatie voor ToegepastNatuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek),and Belgium's IMEC (InteruniversityMicroelectronics Centre). Bothresearch organizations have deepexpertise in the field s ofmicrosystems development anddesign. In 2005, they joined forces tolaunch the Hoist Centre with supportfrom the Dutch Ministry ofEconomic Affairs and thegovernment of Flanders. The centeris named after Gilles Hoist, the firstdirector of Philips research, and alsocounts the Dutch company as a keypartner.Key factors in the launch of theHoist Centre on the High TechCampus were access to the advancedfacilitiesparticularly the cleanroomsand Philips researchers, aswell as the opportunity to collaboratewith other research organizationsand companies and share the results.The center, like many otherorganizations on the campus, isstructured to pursue pre-competitiveresearch programs that giveparticipating companiesnon-exclusive rights to the researchfindings. "A part of our strategy is totackle research projects that can beof interest to Philips and others,"said Jaap Lombaers, director of theHoist Centre. "We don't seeourselves as an organization thatworks for a single client but rather asa center where multiple clients canparticipate in the research."Companies pay to participate andtypically send some of their ownresearchers, called "industrialresidents," according to Lombaers.Participating companies and theHoist Centre negotiate fees that

depend on the level of participation.Fees typically vary between 10 and15 percent of the program costs.Companies entering a program thathas been running for some time payan entrance fee to compensate forthe work in which other Hoist Centremembers have already invested.Transferring Know-howIndustrial residents are expected tocontribute their own expertise but, atthe same time, are encouraged to"absorb" know-how from researcherscoming from different organizations,including Philips. "Bringing thesepeople physically together andhaving them share ideas and skillson the campus is a highly efficientway to transfer know-how forparticipating companies," Lombaerssaid.Two primary areas of focus at theHoist Centre are wirelessautonomous transducer solutions andsystem-in-foil technologies.Researchers in the center arebuilding up expertise in fields suchas the printing of polymers,structuring of thin surfaces anddesigning of device arch itectures.Products that could someday stemfrom the center's R&D efforts arethin-layered sensing and actingsurfaces, such as organic lighting andsensor tags .While the Hoist Centre is among thelargest members of the High TechCampus, it is only one of a growingnumber of organizations to establisha presence on the research site.Another is the Center forTranslational Molecular Medicine(CTMM), a joint initiative thatincludes Philips, the TechnicalUniversity of Eindhoven, theUniversity Hospital of Maastricht,and the University of Maastricht.While CTMM conducts itsfundamental medical research inMaastricht, its partners in Eindhovenare developing the necessarytechnology to transform biomedicalresearch into products that canimprove the diagnosis and treatmentof patients.Creating New Business VenturesPhilips Incubators, launched in 2002,is another High Tech C ampus

member. Its mission is to create newbusiness ventures based on noveltechnologies created by Philipscorporate R&D. The organizationidentifies business opportunities andhelps transform a research projectinto a new business. In 2006, theincubator program expanded withthe Healthcare Incubator and theLifestyle Incubator.One of the first spinouts from thePhilips technology incubator group isPolymer Vision Ltd. The company,also located on the High TechCampus, is credited with havingdeveloped the world's first rollableelectronic-display, which itdemonstrated at the IFAInternational Consumer ElectronicsShow in Berlin, Germany, in 2005.The paper-like display can be rolledout to a greater size than the actualdevice itself, and once the user hasfinished reading, it can simply berolled back into the device.Leveraging KnowledgeEven if Philips has undertaken hugeefforts to open the gates of itsrenowned research labs, the companyremains committed to cultivating andretaining core competencies in-house,according to Bailer. From apre-competitive, collaborativeperspective, "you can only cooperatein a meaningful way when all partiescan offer something," he said. "Youneed to have your own corecompetencies in certain fields;otherwise, you have nothing to offerto other parties."Moving forward. Philips willcontinue to collaborate in two basicways, according to Bailer. "Eitherwe're part of a much larger researchinitiative or we're the key initiatorand invite others to join," he said.But either way, he was quick to add,the goal remains the same: "We hopeto leverage as much knowledge inthe world as we can instead of tryingto generate it all ourselves."

John Blau,contributing editor, in [email protected] Technology Management


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blau_2007_philips tears down eindhoven r&d fence

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