Open labs provide spaces for interaction across organizational boundaries. They create a huge
potential to advance innovation processes. Making use of this potential however is not an
easy task. It requires diligence sophistication and perseverance from everyone involved in the
implementation and the management of the lab. This book brings together contributions from
leading experts in engineering design strategy foresight and marketing research as well as
policy makers and practitioners from an open lab. It explores from different perspectives how
open labs can be used to facilitate innovation and what needs to be done to make the operation
of an open lab successful. The topics addressed in the book include: interaction patterns and
mediation in open labs innovation technology resource management ecosystem and platform
design cultural translation productivity multi-channel communication and more. The first
part of the book is dedicated to the study of JOSEPHS® an open lab in Germany. It gives
insight in the practical challenges of running an open lab and its role in the local business
ecosystem. The other parts of the book discuss the phenomenon of open labs in general and its
significance in different contexts all around the world.
