Henry Chesbrough 
Adjunct Professor | Mike and Carol Meyer Fellow | Faculty Director, Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation | Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA, UNITED STATES
Innovation thought leader who launched the "Open Innovation" paradigm
Spotlight
Areas of Expertise (7)
Open Innovation
Open Innovation and Business Models
Comparative Industry Evolution
Innovation
Innovation Strategy
Business Development
Managing Intellectual Property
About
Henry Chesbrough, who coined the term "open innovation," is educational director of the Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation at Berkeley Haas. His research focuses on technology management and innovation strategy. He also teaches at Esade Business School at Spain's University Ramon Llull. He has been an adjunct professor at the Harvard Business School and previously served as product manager and vice president of marketing at Quantum Corporation, a manufacturer of data storage devices and systems. He earned a BA in economics from Yale University, an MBA from Stanford University, and a PhD in business administration from Berkeley Haas.
Open innovation is a paradigm that assumes that firms can and should use external and internal ideas and paths to market to advance their technology. The central idea behind open innovation is that—in a world of widely distributed knowledge where the boundaries between a firm and its environment have become more permeable—companies cannot afford to rely entirely on their own research but should instead buy or license processes or inventions from other companies. In addition, internal inventions not being used in a firm's business should be taken outside the company (e.g., through licensing, joint ventures, spin-offs).
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Education (3)
Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley: PhD, Business Administration and Public Policy
Stanford University: MBA, Highest Honors
Yale University: BA, Summa Cum Laude, Economics
Links (4)
Honors & Awards (12)
Honoris Causa Doctorate: Universitat de Vic, Spain
2014
Honoris Causa Doctorate: Hessalt University, Belgium
2013
Berkeley Haas "Leading Through Innovation" Award
2009
"Open Business Models" named in Top Ten Books on Innovation
Businessweek Magazine 2006
Scientific American Top 50 Business and Technology Leaders
2003
"Open Innovation" named Best Business Book on Innovation
Strategy and Business Magazine 2003
NEDO/METI scholarship for research on spin-offs
March 2003
Sasakawa Foundation Research Fellow, Haas School of Business
2002 and 2003
Class of 1961 Fellow, Harvard Business School
1999
Robert Noyce Memorial Fellowship in Industrial Competitiveness
Intel Foundation 1995-1997
Awarded Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor at UC Berkeley
1996
Leadership in Technology Management Award
PICMET (Portland International Center for Management of Engineering & Technology) August 2019
Selected External Service & Affiliations (4)
- Member, Editorial Board, Research Policy and California Management Review
- Academy of Management – BPS, OMT, TIM Divisions
- Ad hoc reviewer, California Management Review, Research Policy, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, and Industrial and Corporate Change
- Board member, Journal of Engineering and Technology Management
Positions Held (1)
At Haas since 2003
2005 – present, Adjunct Professor, Haas School of Business 2003 – present, Executive Director, Center for Open Innovation, Haas School of Business 1997 – 2003, Assistant Professor and Class of 1961 Fellow, Harvard Business School 1983 – 1995, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development and other product marketing positions, Plus Development Corporation, an entrepreneurial subsidiary of Quantum Corporation
Media Appearances (15)
A startup created a ventilator in 6 weeks. What does that mean for other players in Asia?
Tech in Asia online
2021-04-08
The writer argues that open innovation has played an important role in Asian companies’ success in “leapfrogging” their international competitors. “Open innovation” was first coined in 2003 by Adjunct Prof. Henry Chesbrough. It encourages firms to look outside the confines of their companies and seek external knowledge, expertise, or technologies that can be incorporated into their internal innovation.
Convention Bureau Italia premieres ‘BoxIT’, the free networking online platform for international buyers interested in Italy as a MICE and Wedding Destination
Meetings International online
2021-02-25
Even in the event planning industry, the concept of open innovation, coined by Adj. Prof. Henry Chesbrough, Mike and Carol Meyer Fellow and the Faculty Director of the Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation, is crucial to meaningfully connecting stakeholders to refine new ideas. Open innovation expresses how companies in the information age have moved from closed and silo-based processes to open innovation processes, which embrace external cooperation and are driven by the increasing complexity of our digital world.
The House antitrust report is a major step toward reining in Big Tech
Brookings Institution online
2020-10-20
A new House antitrust report’s recommendation suggests that discouraging big tech acquisition of startups undermines the open innovation system described by Adj. Prof. Henry Chesbrough, the Mike and Carol Meyer Fellow and faculty director of the Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation.
Companies need to be more curious and humble, suggests Henry Chesbrough
Jornal do Comércio (Portuguese) online
2020-08-21
Adj. Prof. Henry Chesbrough, the Mike and Carol Meyer Fellow and the faculty director of the Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation, discusses how successful open-innovation programs can reduce costs, increase differentiation, speed up time to market, and diffuse risk.
Finding Our Next Normal In The Covid-19 Recovery
Forbes online
2020-06-18
Few of us saw the Covid-19 pandemic coming. The rapid rise of cases, the overloaded hospital ICUs, the sudden deaths of thousands of Americans, all of this triggered a massive shutdown of our economy and our society.
The pandemic is liberating firms to experiment with radical new ideas
The Economist online
2020-04-25
Some companies responding to the pandemic are embracing innovation, an approach that will have long-term benefits. Adj. Prof. Henry Chesbrough, faculty director of the Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation, said most large companies do not use or license most of their patents, and save their "crown jewels." Now some of these vaults are being opened up, and their contents shared with others.
Innovation and technology in the age of cybersecurity
Le Temps (French) online
2020-02-22
There are several definitions of open innovation, but a recent definition by Chesbrough is “ a distributed innovation process based on the management of knowledge flows across organizational boundaries, using pecuniary and non-pecuniary mechanisms in accordance with the organization's business model ”.
IBM Watson And The Value Of Open
Forbes online
2020-02-12
In 2011, IBM had the opportunity to change the market with the development of its then one-of-a-kind AI technology, IBM Watson. Yet the company's high expectations fell flat. Adj. Prof. Henry Chesbrough, faculty director of the Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation, examines what went wrong.
What Nokia Teaches Us About Tesla
Forbes online
2020-02-06
Adj. Prof. Henry Chesbrough, faculty director of the Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation, writes about Tesla’s prospects from an innovation perspective. He notes that Toyota's software lags behind Tesla's—as Nokia's once lagged behind Apple's. "The Nokia experience teaches us how the basis of competition and of user experience and satisfaction in a market can change, and how it can change relatively quickly," he said.
How to Capture All the Advantages of Open Innovation
Harvard Business Review online
2020-01-28
Henry Chesbrough, adjunct professor at the University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business, coined the term “open innovation” over a decade ago. This is the practice of sourcing ideas outside your own organization as well as sharing your own research with others.
“Gobernar no es subir impuestos, es saber generar riqueza con ellos”
La Vanguardia (Spanish) online
2020-01-14
La izquierda siempre ha estado más preocupada por repartir la riqueza que por crearla. Y eso no es suficiente, porque el Estado emprendedor, como demuestran Mazzucato y ahora Chesbrough, es el más necesario y efectivo de los innovadores cuando no cae en manos de una camarilla partidista y sirve a todos.
Viewpoint: Why productivity is going down when technology is accelerating
Science | Business online
2020-01-09
It is an exciting time to be alive in Silicon Valley. Digital technologies, blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), dancing robots, private space companies and autonomous vehicles abound around here. Technologies are advancing at an increasing rate, which some call “exponential technology”.
Fire fighting—the lessons from Australia’s wildfires
The Economist online
2020-01-08
Australia is battling catastrophic wildfires. Climate models predict extreme fire events are going to become more commonplace. What can countries do to prepare? And, a glimpse into the chip factory around which the modern world turns. Also, what is “open innovation”? Henry Chesbrough, professor at the Haas School of Business, at UC Berkeley talks to Kenneth Cukier. Runtime: 24min
How to Respond to the Rise of China
Forbes online
2019-11-17
Trade relations with China appear to be converging on an agreement that will bring more US exports - particularly farm products - to China. This will reduce the trade deficit between the US and China. Is this the best way for the US to respond to the rise of China?
Berkeley Haas professors explain why Smart Village has a better chance of success than Smart City
Indica News online
2019-10-05
“Smart Village still has a chance, the reason being it is based primarily on private money,” Prof Chesbrough told indica. At least 40 companies have made small investments and they keep track on costs, return on investment, and profit; they also measure village impact and things like that.
Selected Papers & Publications (6)
Open innovation: research, practices, and policies
California Management ReviewM Bogers, H Chesbrough, C Moedas
January 2018
The Adoption of Open Innovation in Large Firms
Research-Technology ManagementSabine Brunswicker & Henry Chesbrough
January 2018
Hierarchical Segmentation of R&D Process and Intellectual Property Protection: Evidence from Mulitnational R&D Laboratories in China
IEE Transactions on Engineering ManagementHenry Chesbrough and Xiaohong Quan
2010
Open R&D and Open Innovation: Exploring the Phenomenon
R&D ManagementHenry Chesbrough, Oliver Gassmann and Ellen Enkel
2009
Open Business Models: How to Thrive in the New Innovation Landscape
Harvard Business School PressHenry Chesbrough
2006
Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology
Harvard Business School PressHenry Chesbrough
2003
Teaching (3)
Managing Innovation
MBA 290I
Introduction to the Management of Technology
MBA 290A
Innovation in Services and Business Models
MBA 290T
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