The Internationalization of Corporate R&D

THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF CORPORATE R&DThe problem solving market works for specific and clearly defined problems.Moreover, companies need to be very precise in defining a problem that should beviewed by problem solvers with different nationalities and different backgrounds.InnoCentive and NineSigma work well for problems that are part of larger researchprojects. Problems that cannot be precisely and clearly articulated are still the workfor in-house R&D staff (Raynor & Panetta 2005).InnoCentive and NineSigma have realized that companies need business services tosupport their innovation programs in addition to the web-based service initially offered.Utilizing the internet alone is not sufficient. YourEncore assists with finding retireesthat will help with management, development and commercialization. yet2.com isuseful when searching for fundamental technologies, but does not work as well withdesign-related technologies. According to Luc Vanmaele, Manager TechnologyScouting at Agfa-Gevaert, wide search criteria are necessary when you are looking fortechnologies. Too much specificity may not generate a result. The “Saved Search”option on yet2.com’s website is particularly useful for users according to Vanmaele.Each time a technology is added to the yet2.com database fulfilling the criteria mentionedin the Saved Search, the user receives automatically an email with the newlyadded technology listing. On the technology selling side, it is also easier to sell a portfolioof patents than a single patent at yet2.com, according to Vanmaele.Which industry sectors are the main users of these new marketplaces?InnoCentive was initially affiliated with chemical and pharmaceutical companies andNineSigma has supported these companies as well. Since their beginnings, these industrysectors have therefore been the focus of a large part of their work. However,both companies have expanded and NineSigma, for example, has today customers fromthe automotive, aerospace and consumer goods sectors. YourEncore was created byProcter & Gamble and has naturally recruited retirees from P&G, but also from earlycustomers like Eli Lilly and Boeing. According to representatives from these marketplaces,they see a shift from the chemical and pharmaceutical industries to other industriessuch as material science, aerospace and consumer products. P&G said that usingexternal R&D partners works for all 150 research areas that are found within P&G.yet2.com was not established by another company and has a much broader customerbase than the other networks. yet2.com handles intellectual property within varioussectors, such as the telecommunications and pharmaceutical industries.YourEncore is recruiting more engineers and new customers, and both InnoCentive andNineSigma are in an expansion phase. They are faced with the challenge of findingmore customers beyond the large and leading companies. In addition, their businessideas are limited to large companies due to the current cost structure. Smaller companiesmay find it difficult to afford the cost for these services. Most users are still179