Open Innovation in Corporations – Why Open Up?
In the 21st century, “closing off to protect advantages” is no longer a safe strategy. When the technology life cycle is now measured in quarters and the product cycle is shorter than the internal approval process, large corporations are forced to learn how to open up – to learn faster, test faster, and co-create new value with others.
Open innovation is becoming a survival strategy, not just a complementary option for traditional R&D programs (Mind the Bridge, 2025; Innosabi, 2025; Start2Group, 2025).
“Open” because no one can do everything alone
In the 1990s, the competitive edge of corporations lay in the size of their R&D departments and billion-dollar budgets. Today, however, more useful knowledge lies outside the enterprise than within. According to Open Innovation Outlook 2025 (Mind the Bridge, 2025), over 68% of new product and technology ideas commercialized by corporations come from external sources – startups, research institutes, or customers.
This leads to a new rule: the cost of internal learning is now higher than the cost of controlled sharing. Instead of trying to build everything from scratch, successful corporations have shifted to becoming orchestrators of value networks — turning startups into “extended R&D departments” and customers into co-creators.
Notable examples include Samsung, Bosch, and Elia Group. Samsung continuously organizes open innovation contests to seek IoT and healthtech solutions, successfully commercializing products like SmartThings (HeroX, 2024). Bosch established the Open Bosch program, where startups collaborate with internal engineers to develop AI modules for autonomous vehicles (ITONICS, 2025). Elia Group, meanwhile, opened its grid data to digital energy startups, enabling AI-based optimization of operations (ITONICS, 2025).
In all these cases, “open” is no longer tech-related CSR — it is a core strategic structure, a foundation for maintaining innovation speed and adaptability.
“Open” because internal innovation has hit its ceiling
Traditional R&D processes are often cumbersome, risk-averse, and prioritize safety over speed. Hundreds of ideas may “die” in the lab due to lack of test markets or misalignment with strategic product portfolios. Open innovation creates a parallel mechanism — where ideas can be tested beyond internal borders, at startup speed but with the corporation’s data, funding, and brand as launchpads.
According to Future-Proofing Corporate Innovation (Start2Group, 2025), 75% of the world’s leading corporations have shifted from exclusive innovation models to flexible frameworks that allow simultaneous testing of multiple solutions and faster selection. As a result, they have shortened R&D cycles by up to 40% and significantly reduced the cost per successful product (McKinsey, 2025; HYPE Innovation, 2025).
“Open” to adapt to the era of AI, data, and platforms
In the digital economy, value no longer lies in raw data but in the ability to connect and learn from others’ data. Technology and industrial giants are opening APIs, sharing simulation datasets, or allowing third parties to develop products on their platforms — from Google and Microsoft to Siemens and Bosch (ITONICS, 2025; Yet2, 2025).
In Vietnam, this trend is still in its early stage. Some corporations have organized innovation contests or launched technology sandboxes. However, most efforts remain experimental — lacking clear IP governance mechanisms, complicated collaboration processes, and a corporate culture still hesitant to share.
If this does not change, Vietnamese corporations risk repeating Kodak’s mistake — once owning the first digital camera technology but collapsing due to cultural inertia and the belief that “we are already leading” (Innosabi, 2023).
“Open” to leverage the short lifespan of patents
According to the WIPO Global Innovation Index 2025, over 60% of patents in high-tech fields have a commercial life span of less than three years (WIPO, 2025). If companies fail to quickly find partners to exploit these patents, they will become obsolete before investment costs are recovered.
Many global corporations have adopted Patent-to-Market or Patent Licensing strategies — sharing non-core technologies for startups or SMEs to create new products. This is how IBM, Hitachi, and Panasonic generate billions of USD annually from their seemingly “expired” IP portfolios.
In Vietnam, where the patent commercialization rate is still below 10% (WIPO, 2024), being “open” could become a lever to transform intellectual property assets into real revenue streams instead of merely sitting in registration files.
“Open” to survive in a nonlinear economy
After the COVID-19 pandemic, corporations realized that global value chains are no longer stable. Supply chain disruptions, material shortages, and geopolitical volatility have made adaptability the greatest competitive advantage.
Research by McKinsey (2025) and HYPE Innovation (2025) shows that corporations with well-functioning open innovation programs are 2.3 times more resilient during crises than those relying solely on internal resources. Collaborating with external partners creates resilience nodes in the network — when one link fails, the rest can still operate.
Vietnam: Still at the “dialogue” stage, not yet “designed for openness”
Many Vietnamese corporations are still talking about openness rather than designing for openness. Activities such as hackathons, MOUs with startups, or pilot collaborations remain fragmented, lacking proper budget mechanisms, KPIs, and data governance frameworks.
The root causes are the absence of IP management frameworks and mechanisms to protect knowledge in open collaboration. Companies fear losing trade secrets, lack IP valuation capabilities, and maintain cultures favoring safety over learning.
“Open” to evolve, not just to cooperate
If this article answers the question “Why open up?”, the next one will explore “How to open up with discipline” — how corporations can build ecosystems, manage IP, measure effectiveness, and maintain flexibility without losing technological secrets.
Open innovation is not merely about sharing ideas; it is about restructuring how enterprises learn and create value. In an era of volatility, “open” is no longer an action — it is a strategic capability of the corporation.
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