Open innovation is no longer optional for organisations facing accelerating technological change. They must collaborate beyond their boundaries to access new capabilities and ideas. But while partnerships with start-ups and external innovators have become widespread, many initiatives still fail to deliver meaningful business impact.

This was the focus of a recent webinar moderated by Vibha Gaba, The Berghmans Lhoist Chaired Professor of Entrepreneurial Leadership at INSEAD. In conversation with Giacomo Silvestri, executive chairman of Eniverse Ventures and group head of innovation ecosystems at Eni, and Benjamin N. Haddad, managing director of technology strategy at Accenture, she explored why the challenge is no longer finding innovation but integrating it.

In industries undergoing rapid transformation, innovation has become an ecosystem activity, and companies can no longer rely solely on internal research and development. Yet, openness alone rarely delivers results. Many organisations still focus on launching pilots, accelerators or partnerships without building the structures required to scale promising solutions.

How organisations can succeed

As Gaba highlighted, large organisations operate as complex systems. New technologies must fit into existing processes, data architectures and governance frameworks. Without clear ownership and alignment with business priorities, innovation efforts risk stalling in the so-called “POC death valley” – where proof-of-concept projects fail to transition into operational deployment.

Artificial intelligence is raising the stakes. As AI tools make it easier to identify start-ups and emerging technologies, competitive advantage is shifting towards orchestration and execution. The organisations that succeed will be those that treat innovation as a disciplined business process, balancing experimentation with integration and long-term value creation.