Forbes Marshall - External Sources for Innovation

The development of an innovation in an organization undergoes several stages from ideation to development to production and finally distribution of new product. The innovation process can be broadly split into 5 stages.
1. Idea Generation
2. Idea Evaluation and Selection
3. Product Design and Conceptualization (R&D)
4. Manufacturing
5. Marketing and Distribution

At each stage the organization has an opportunity to open and engage with knowledge resources outside the organization or to remain close and develop the knowledge for the innovation inside the organization.

E.g. An organization may open to outside people for ideas to new developments but not design or later developments. In another case a firm may provide an idea and seek an external party to develop and conceptualize it.