Open Innovation Mill: Utilization of Nokia's Non-Core Ideas

The Innovation Mill (IM) is an initiative which has been established in collaboration mainly among Nokia Corporation, Technopolis, and Tekes. Nokia Corporation provides its non-core ideas to other existing and start-ups companies through IM to turn these ideas into valuable products and services. Nokia's idea database consists of enormous number of ideas that are non-core to it. Companies earn gratuitous licensing of ideas from the Nokia Corporation. This study explores the IM case to understand the insights of the initiative. IM case can be a learning lesson for other large companies who have unused ideas that can have commercial value if those ideas are given to various pertinent external companies. Moreover, this study raises some important issues which are pivotal to explore so that IM grows successfully.