Open innovation in embedded systems

Carsten-Constantin Soeldner Open Innovation in Embedded Systems Markt- und Unternehmensentwicklung Markets and Organisations Edited by A Picot, München, Deutschland R Reichwald, Leipzig, Deutschland E Franck, Zürich, Schweiz K M Möslein­, Erlangen-Nürnberg, Deutschland Change of institutions, technology and competition drives the interplay of markets and organisations The scientific series ‘Markets and Organisations’ addresses a magnitude of related questions, presents theoretic and empirical findings and dis­­ cusses related concepts and models Edited by Professor Dr Dres h c Arnold Picot Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Deutschland Professor Dr Professor h c Dr h c Ralf Reichwald HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Leipzig, Deutschland Professor Dr Egon Franck Universität Zürich, Schweiz Professorin Dr Kathrin M Möslein Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg & HHL, Leipzig, Deutschland Carsten-Constantin Soeldner Open Innovation in Embedded Systems With a foreword by Prof Dr Kathrin M Möslein Carsten-Constantin Soeldner ­Nürnberg, Germany Dissertation Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 2016 Markt- und Unternehmensentwicklung Markets and Organisations ISBN 978-3-658-16388-4 ISBN 978-3-658-16389-1  (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-658-16389-1 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016956813 Springer Gabler © Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH 2017 This work is subject to copyright All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made Printed on acid-free paper This Springer Gabler imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH The registered company address is: Abraham-Lincoln-Str 46, 65189 Wiesbaden, Germany Foreword V Foreword Embedded systems have already for a long time been the hidden champions of a broad variety of electronical devices While they are already constant companions in our daily lives, only in recent years they have moved to the foreground of innovation Traditionally, they have been designed for a specific purpose without giving the freedom of changing or growing their functionality throughout their lifecycle Most impressively, the potential of embedded systems has revealed itself in today’s smart phones with their great variety of applications Step by step we understand that similar developments are also taking place with other classes of embedded system – ranging from cars or utility vehicles to domestic or robotic devices, to name just a few Firms seeking to innovate are searching for innovative ideas and applications outside the boundaries of their firm – a phenomenon denoted as ‘open innovation’ Bringing open innovation and embedded systems together bears a huge potential Applying open innovation to existing embedded systems assumes that the system is already open to some degree – but usually, embedded systems have not been designed with openness in mind This leads to a twofold challenge: the technical opening of embedded systems as well as the organizational opening required for open innovation Constantin Söldner addresses exactly this complex interplay of technical and organizational challenges His work sheds light on the question how open innovation can be enabled for embedded systems Whereas prior studies were focusing on the organizational side of open innovation or were exploring how online innovation platforms can be used to bring together external actors, the focus on the technical product as open innovation platform itself is rather new and exciting To illuminate open innovation in embedded systems, Constantin Söldner addresses the following aspects: x Technical characteristics of embedded systems which constrain and enable open innovation practices x Organizational forms of openness x Technical forms of openness x Modularizations for open innovation in embedded systems x Open innovation in embedded systems without opening Thus, the author provides comprehensive insight on open innovation in embedded systems Researchers as well as practitioners can equally benefit from his findings His VI Preface work not only paves the way for further research It also offers new insights for both researchers from the field of open innovation as well as embedded systems In conclusion, this work appeals by it practical reach, academic scope and relevance It has been accepted as a doctoral dissertation in 2016 by the School of Business and Economics at the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg The book is a must-read for all those who intend to conduct open innovation in embedded systems or who want to gain a better understanding on how open innovation can be enabled in a technical context I wish the book the broad dissemination it deserves Prof Dr Kathrin M Möslein Overview of Contents VII Overview of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS IX LIST OF FIGURES XIII LIST OF TABLES XV LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS XVII PART I INTRODUCTION 1 Motivation and relevance 2 Structure of the thesis .4 PART II THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS .9 Overview 10 Embedded systems 11 Open innovation 14 Openness 18 Summary of part II 49 PART III EMPIRICAL STUDIES 53 Research design 54 Study - Exploring open innovation processes in the ES domain 57 Study - Organizational opening of ES companies for open innovation 67 Study – Technical opening of embedded systems for open innovation .77 Study - Open innovation without opening ES 134 PART IV DISCUSSION 145 Reflection on the studies’ results 146 Cross-Study discussion 149 PART V SUMMARY AND CONTRIBUTION 159 Summary 160 Contribution of this thesis 161 REFERENCES 169 ANNEXES 179 Annex A Complete list of internet sources used in study 180 Annex B Communication of the research 181 Table of Contents IX Table of Contents Overview of Contents v Table of Contents .ix List of Figures xiii List of Tables xv List of Abbreviations xvii Part I Introduction 1 Motivation and relevance 2 Structure of the thesis Part II Theoretical Foundations Overview 10 Embedded systems 11 Open innovation 14 Openness 18 4.1 Definition of openness 19 4.2 Openness in computer systems 24 4.2.1 Openness on the software layer 25 4.2.2 Openness on the hardware layer 27 4.3 Openness of ES .29 4.3.1 Organizational openness of ES 29 4.3.2 Technical openness of ES 30 4.4 Openness from a platforms perspective 34 4.4.1 Platforms 34 4.4.2 Openness of platforms 35 4.4.3 Implications on ES openness 38 4.5 Openness from a modularity perspective .39 4.5.1 Modularity 39 4.5.2 Determinants of modularity 41 4.5.3 The process of modularization 43 4.5.4 Modularity and openness 45 Summary of part II 49 Part III Empirical Studies .53 Research design 54 X Table of Contents Study - Exploring open innovation processes in the ES domain 57 2.1 Research design 58 2.2 The three core open innovation processes 58 2.2.1 Implications of the characteristics of ES on the outside-in process 59 2.2.2 Implications of the characteristics of ES on the inside-out process 62 2.2.3 Implications of the characteristics of ES on the coupled process 63 2.3 2.4 Results 65 Conclusion 67 Study - Organizational opening of ES companies for open innovation 67 3.1 Research Design 68 3.1.1 Data collection 68 3.1.2 Data analysis 69 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Forms of embedded systems openness 70 Technical factors influencing ES openness 71 Organizational factors influencing ES openness 73 Discussion 76 Conclusion 76 Study – Technical opening of embedded systems for open innovation 77 4.1 Research design 78 4.1.1 Data collection 78 4.1.2 Data analysis 81 4.2 Cases 83 4.2.1 Raspberry PI 83 4.2.2 Arduino 86 4.2.3 Google Glass 89 4.2.4 Project Ara 92 4.2.5 SmartThings 95 4.2.6 LEGO Mindstorms 98 4.2.7 INCA 101 4.2.8 Prosyst E-Health 103 4.2.9 Infotainment System 105 4.2.10 John Deere 108 4.2.11 Kuka Youbot 110 4.2.12 Qivicon 112 ... between two different forms of OI in ES: x Open innovation in embedded systems by opening embedded systems x Open innovation in embedded systems without opening embedded systems The first form implies... as open innovation Bringing open innovation and embedded systems together bears a huge potential Applying open innovation to existing embedded systems assumes that the system is already open. .. processes in the ES domain 57 Study - Organizational opening of ES companies for open innovation 67 Study – Technical opening of embedded systems for open innovation .77 Study - Open innovation