Buyer's Guide to "Innovation Bazaar"

meach99 writes: The June 2007 issue of Harvard Business Review has a thought provoking article called "A Buyer's Guide to the Innovation Bazaar" that focuses on the different external innovation sourcing mechanisms, including a new entity called "Innovation Capitalist". The article is available at: http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/rela y.jhtml?name=itemdetail&id=R0706H The authors Nambisan & Sawhney note that: "We call this marketplace the "innovation bazaar." Like a traditional bazaar, it can be chaotic and bewildering. The dizzying array of wares ranges from raw ideas and patents to market-ready new products. And they are touted by all kinds of hawkers, from idea scouts to business incubators. Just contemplating a plunge into the hurly-burly of this space can be daunting. Indeed, our conversations with senior managers at more than 30 major corporations suggest that although most companies have come to understand the importance of looking outside for innovation, they have serious misgivings about how to do it. The success stories notwithstanding, smart executives know that what works for a P&G or an Intel may not be appropriate for a DuPont or a Microsoft. But how should they shop for the innovation offerings that will work for them? We offer here a conceptual guide to navigating the innovation bazaar and making wise selections from the various vendors. With this guide in hand, companies can meet their particular needs by putting together a balanced mix of offerings based on the external market context and their internal capabilities. We also introduce a new kind of intermediary that can help companies improve the effectiveness of their innovation sourcing efforts."