Yaowen Hu*
New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Business and Technology Management (Technology Innovation and Strategy), New York 11201, USA
*Corresponding Email: YaowenHu200432@163.com
https://doi.org/10.71052/hkfb2025/IBSQ6271
Abstract
In today’s fast-developing business environment, how to achieve technological breakthrough and market leadership through open innovation has become a critical issue for enterprises. Open innovation, as an innovation mode, can promote enterprises to continuously conduct technological innovation through in-depth cooperation and exchange inside and outside. To implement the open innovation strategy, we first need to build an open and inclusive innovation culture and create an atmosphere conducive to innovation. At the same time, strengthen internal and external cooperation and exchanges, use external resources to make up for their own shortcomings and expand the scope of innovation. Build an open innovation platform so that enterprises can better share resources, knowledge, and achievements with the outside world. The implementation of these strategies can not only promote technological breakthroughs, but also accelerate the process of product marketization, expand market space, and enhance brand influence. Therefore, enterprises should actively embrace open innovation to achieve technological breakthroughs and market leadership, to be invincible in the fierce market competition.
keywords
Open innovation, Technological innovation, Technological breakthrough
Introduction
In today’s era of rapid development, enterprise innovation has become the core of enterprise competitiveness. However, the closed innovation model has been difficult to meet the increasingly fierce market competition and changing technological trends. Therefore, open innovation has gradually become an important way for enterprises to achieve technological breakthroughs and market leadership [1].
Open innovation is a way to promote enterprise innovation with an open and cooperative attitude. It emphasizes the interaction and cooperation between enterprises and the external environment, breaks through the limitations of traditional closed innovation, and takes the innovation process from enterprise internal expansion to the whole industrial chain and ecosystem. This innovative model is characterized by its openness, cooperation and sharing, aiming at achieving technological breakthrough and market leadership through the integration and sharing of internal and external resources [2].
In open innovation, enterprises are no longer alone but actively seek exchanges and cooperation with the outside world. Enterprises can establish contact with the outside world in many ways, such as cooperating with other enterprises, research institutions, universities, and industry experts. Through this cooperation, enterprises can obtain more resources, knowledge, and information, and accelerate the speed of technological innovation and product development [3]. At the same time, open innovation can also help enterprises better understand market demand and trends, thus providing dedicated support for market leaders.
Building an open innovation culture for enterprises is also the key to realize open innovation. This requires enterprises to change the traditional mode of thinking, from conservative and closed thinking to open and cooperative thinking. Only in this way can enterprises truly embrace open innovation and achieve technological breakthroughs and market leadership [4].
In this paper, the connotation and characteristics of open innovation, the strategies for enterprises to implement open innovation, and its influence on technological breakthrough and market leadership of enterprises will be discussed in detail. I hope that through these discussions, we can provide useful reference for enterprises to implement open innovation.
The connotation and characteristics of open innovation
The definition of open innovation
Open innovation refers to an innovative mode in which enterprises not only rely on internal resources for R&D, but actively use external resources, including suppliers, customers, competitors, research institutions, universities, etc., to realize the effective integration of innovation resources, so as to speed up innovation, improve innovation quality and gain market competitive advantage. This innovation model breaks the boundaries of traditional closed innovation, making innovation no longer confined to the enterprise, but forming an open, collaborative, and shared innovation ecosystem [5]. Through open innovation, enterprises can better capture market demand, integrate global innovation resources, promote the effective docking of technological innovation and market demand, and realize sustainable development. The trillion-dollar enterprises among the top five hundred Chinese enterprises in 2024 are shown in the following table:
Table 1. Trillion-level Enterprises in the Top 500 Chinese Enterprises in 2024.
| Ranking | Enterprise Name | Operating Revenue/100 million yuan |
| 1 | State Grid Corporation of China | 38648.92 |
| 2 | Sinopec Group (China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation) | 30419.46 |
| 3 | CNPC Group (China National Petroleum Corporation) | 29854.11 |
| 4 | China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited | 22655.29 |
| 5 | Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited | 16116.3 |
| 6 | China Construction Bank Corporation | 14140.29 |
| 7 | Agricultural Bank of China Limited | 13613.93 |
| 8 | China Railway Engineering Group Co., Ltd. | 12640.89 |
| 9 | Bank of China Limited | 12186.99 |
| 10 | China Railway Construction Corporation Limited | 11386.77 |
The characteristics of open innovation
Resource sharing: Open innovation emphasizes the sharing and integration of innovative resources. Enterprises can make use of their own resources, including technology, talents, capital, and information, through cooperation with external partners to form complementary resources, reduce innovation costs and improve innovation efficiency. Collaborative innovation: open innovation encourages collaborative innovation inside and outside enterprises, and through the establishment of cross-organizational and cross-disciplinary innovation teams, we can jointly overcome technical problems and promote technological innovation and industrial upgrading. This collaborative innovation model is helpful to break down industry barriers and promote the deep integration of technology and industry. Market-oriented: Open innovation is market demand-oriented [6]. Through in-depth understanding of customer demand, it can tap market potential, turn market demand into innovation power, and promote the continuous upgrading and optimization of products and services. Risk dispersion: through open innovation, enterprises can spread the innovation risk to multiple partners and reduce the risk borne by a single enterprise. At the same time, the participation of external partners will also help to improve the success rate of innovation and accelerate the commercialization of innovation results.
Open innovation model
Industry-University-Research Cooperation Mode: Enterprises establish close cooperative relations with universities and research institutions, jointly conduct technology research and development and transformation of achievements and promote technological innovation and industrial upgrading. This model is helpful for enterprises to acquire innovative technology and enhance their independent innovation ability [7]. Competition and cooperation mode: enterprises and competitors cooperate in specific fields, jointly develop innovative technologies and products, and realize resource sharing and complementary advantages. This mode of cooperation is helpful to break down industry barriers and promote the coordinated development of industries. User participation mode: Enterprises invite users to participate in the process of product design and research and development and constantly optimize products and services and improve market competitiveness through users’ feedback and suggestions. This model helps enterprises to better understand market demand and improve user satisfaction. Open innovation platform model: enterprises build an open innovation platform to attract internal and external innovation resources, including entrepreneurs, developers, designers, etc., to jointly conduct technological innovation and product development [8]. This model helps enterprises to expand innovation boundaries and stimulate innovation vitality.
Enterprises to implement open innovation strategy
Building an open culture of innovation
To build an open innovation culture: (1) Senior leaders of enterprises should establish an open innovation concept, take open innovation as an important strategy for enterprise development, encourage employees to actively participate in innovation activities, and form a good atmosphere for all employees to innovate. (2) Enterprises should establish a perfect innovation incentive mechanism, reward employees who have made outstanding contributions in the process of innovation and stimulate employees’ motivation. (3) Enterprises should also provide sufficient resources for the innovation team, including funds, technology, and talents, to ensure the smooth progress of innovation activities. (4) Enterprises should regularly hold innovative training and education activities to enhance employees’ innovative consciousness and ability. By inviting experts to give lectures, organizing internal training and launching innovation competitions, we can stimulate employees’ innovative thinking and cultivate innovative talents. (5) Enterprises should create an open, inclusive, and collaborative innovation environment, encourage employees to conduct exchanges and cooperation with external partners, and jointly promote technological innovation and industrial upgrading. By holding innovation forums, technical exchanges, and other activities, we will build an innovation exchange platform and promote the sharing and integration of innovation resources.
Strengthening internal and external cooperation and exchanges
To realize open innovation, enterprises need to strengthen internal and external cooperation and exchanges to form a good situation of collaborative innovation and resource sharing. Enterprises should actively seek to establish close cooperative relations with suppliers, customers, competitors, research institutions, universities, etc., and jointly conduct technology research and development and achievement transformation. By signing cooperation agreements and jointly building R&D centers, the sharing of innovative resources and complementary advantages can be realized [9-11].
Crossfield cooperation: Enterprises should encourage cross-field cooperation, break down industry barriers and promote the deep integration of technology and industry. Through the establishment of cross-organizational and cross-disciplinary innovation teams, we will jointly overcome technical problems and promote technological innovation and industrial upgrading. The regional distribution map of the number of listed companies in China in 2024 is shown in the following figure:
Figure 1. Regional distribution map of the number of listed companies in China in 2024.
Strengthening international exchanges and cooperation: enterprises should actively participate in international innovation exchanges and cooperation, introduce foreign advanced technology and management experience, and enhance their independent innovation ability. By participating in international science and technology exhibitions and holding international seminars, we will broaden our international horizons and strengthen the docking and integration with international innovation resources.
Establishing an innovative alliance: enterprises should actively participate in or form an innovative alliance to jointly conduct technological innovation and industrial development with other enterprises and research institutions in the industry. Improve innovation efficiency and reduce innovation risks by sharing innovation resources and promoting projects in collaboration.
Building an open innovation platform
To realize open innovation, enterprises need to build an open innovation platform, attract internal and external innovation resources, and jointly conduct technological innovation and product development. Enterprises can use the Internet, big data, and other technical means to build an online innovation platform, attract internal and external innovation resources, including entrepreneurs, developers, designers, etc., and jointly conduct technological innovation and product development. Through the online platform, enterprises can publish innovation requirements, collect innovation solutions, and realize the effective docking of innovation resources [12,13].
Enterprises can also establish innovation incubators to provide financial, technical and market support for entrepreneurs and help them turn innovative ideas into practical products. Through incubators, enterprises can explore and cultivate innovative projects with potential and promote technological innovation and industrial upgrading [14].
Enterprises should devote themselves to creating an innovation ecological chain, intricately connecting suppliers, customers, research institutions, universities, and other innovative resources to form a good situation of collaborative innovation and resource sharing. By building an innovative ecological chain, enterprises can optimize the allocation of innovative resources, improve innovation efficiency, and promote technological innovation and industrial upgrading [15].
The impact of open innovation on technological breakthroughs and market leadership of enterprises
Promote technological breakthroughs
Open innovation helps enterprises to achieve technological breakthroughs. By integrating internal and external innovation resources, enterprises can obtain innovative technical information, understand the development trend of the industry, and thus grasp the direction of technological innovation. At the same time, enterprises can cooperate with universities and research institutions to conduct technology research and development, jointly overcome technical problems, and enhance the ability of independent innovation. In addition, open innovation can also stimulate employees’ enthusiasm for innovation, encourage them to put forward innovative ideas and solutions, and provide a steady stream of power for technological innovation of enterprises. Through open innovation, enterprises can accelerate the pace of technological innovation, achieve technological breakthroughs, and enhance market competitiveness.
Accelerate the process of product marketization
Open innovation helps enterprises to accelerate the process of product marketization. Through in-depth understanding of market demand, enterprises can develop products that meet market demand and improve their market competitiveness. At the same time, enterprises can cooperate with suppliers and customers to conduct product research and development and testing to jointly optimize product performance and reduce costs. In addition, open innovation can also help enterprises to quickly respond to market changes, adjust product strategies in time, and meet the individual needs of customers. Through open innovation, enterprises can shorten the time to market, increase the market share of products and accelerate the process of product marketization.
Expand market space
The new number of private enterprises in some cities in 2024 is shown in the following figure:
Figure 2. The number of private enterprises in some cities in 2024.
Open innovation helps enterprises to expand market space. By integrating internal and external innovation resources, enterprises can develop competitive new products and services to meet the diversified needs of customers. At the same time, enterprises can jointly explore the market with partners and expand market share. In addition, open innovation can also help enterprises to expand the international market and push products and services to the global market through cooperation with international partners. Through open innovation, enterprises can continuously expand market space, improve market competitiveness, and achieve sustainable development.
Conclusion
In a highly competitive market environment, enterprises must adopt an open innovation strategy if they want to achieve technological breakthrough and market leadership. Open innovation is not only an innovation model, but also a corporate culture and strategic thinking. By building an open innovation culture, enterprises can stimulate the innovation vitality of internal employees and attract outstanding talents and resources from outside. Strengthen internal and external cooperation and exchanges, so that enterprises can cooperate with the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain, scientific research institutions, universities, and other parties in depth to jointly promote technological innovation and product development. Building an open innovation platform has built a bridge between enterprises and external innovation resources, enabling enterprises to quickly obtain the latest technical information, market trends and user needs.
Through open innovation, enterprises can effectively promote technological breakthroughs. Open innovation encourages enterprises to learn, absorb and integrate external excellent technology and knowledge, and integrate with internal technology to produce modern technologies and products. At the same time, open innovation can also accelerate the process of product marketization, so that enterprises can bring modern technologies and products to the market faster and meet the needs of users. In addition, open innovation also helps enterprises to expand their market space and achieve market leadership by jointly exploring new markets and new fields with partners.
Obviously, open innovation is an important way for modern enterprises to achieve technological breakthroughs and market leadership. By building an open culture, strengthening internal and external cooperation and exchanges, building an innovative platform, and focusing on talent training and introduction, enterprises can effectively integrate internal and external resources and promote technological innovation and product development. This will not only help enterprises achieve technological breakthroughs and product upgrades, but also enhance their brand influence and market competitiveness, thus achieving market leadership. Therefore, enterprises should actively adopt an open innovation strategy and constantly explore and innovate to adapt to the increasingly fierce market competition environment.
Acknowledgements
This work was not supported by any funds. The authors would like to show sincere thanks to those techniques who have contributed to this research.
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Share and Cite
Hu, Y. (2025) How Can Enterprises Achieve Technological Breakthrough and Market Leadership Through Open Innovation. Hong Kong Financial Bulletin, 1(2), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.71052/hkfb2025/ibsq6271