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The term ‘Open innovation’ is a hot topic. It refers to different parties collaborating or innovating in an open fashion. The High Tech Campus Eindhoven (HTCE) profiles itself as an hotspot for open innovation. However, companies at the HTCE mention mostly other factors than open innovation as reason for their location choice.
Source: www.hightechcampus.nl
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This is the result of a recent TNO study carried out among managers of organisations located at the High Tech Campus Eindhoven.As part of a lager study on the future of Dutch industry, this part focused on the question what key conditions and factors for open innovation are and why firms choose to locate at the HTCE. Most frequently mentioned were the excellent facilities along with the reputation effect of the campus and access to technical (consulting) services.
The MiPlaza laboratory is one of the excellent facilities that the campus location offers. Companies have access not only to the MiPlaza cleanroom facilities but also to its technical consultancy services. This makes a state of the art laboratory also affordable for smaller firms. By sharing facilities organisation save up to 75% of otherwise necessary R&D investments. While the state of the art infrastructure is important it remains essential that it is provided cost-effectively. Another advantage of the location is the presence of ‘research orchestrators’, like the Holst Centre. These are organisations that bring together (orchestrate) several players to undertake collaborative research programmes. Furthermore, companies highly value the reputational effect of the campus. The campus address gives them international credibility with clients as well as makes attracting top talent easier.
Next to the benefits there are also reasons for firms not to locate on the campus. The presence of direct competitors, the potential loss of top talent to other, larger companies and the relatively high costs are arguments given. All these arguments have a common denominator: open innovation in itself is not the key factor for locating at the High Tech Campus. However, in this context open innovation and the importance of networks must be seen as an ongoing process that is still in flux. Given that open innovation is a new concept and needs time to develop, in the longer term there may well be shifts in R&D location caused by open innovation.
The research indicates tension between the costs and an optimum R&D location. Soft factors, like the proximity of research partners, the informal network, the effects of reputation and attraction for top talent are difficult to measure. However, such factors are becoming increasingly more important in the knowledge economy where the cost-effectiveness of acquiring and utilizing information is key to success. Despite these soft factors being recognised by R&D managers, the decision about locating is often taken higher up in the organisation. For firms it is therefore of importance to integrate soft factors such as benefits of open innovation into their decision-making processes in selecting an R&D location. One of the recommendations therefore also is to strive to make these soft factors measurable.
