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In 2019, the clinical director of the South East Grey Community Health Centre was conflicted about whether to proceed with presenting the chief executive officer with a proposal to expand the health centre's primary services to a satellite location in the neighbouring community of Port Elgin. The clinical director recalled the challenges she and her colleagues had faced in 2018, during the satellite expansion to Dundalk. As a nurse practitioner, she understood the pressing need for services and the moral imperative to put the patient's needs first. However, as a key member of the Centre's management team, she also knew what this proposal would entail operationally, and what internal pressures and risks were involved. The clinical director wondered how, in an environment of static or declining budgets, the Centre could build on its successes and challenges to date to address the emerging demand for further growth. Should she present the proposal to expand to another neighbouring community during a time of fiscal constraints?

In November 2016, the secretary of Mannarkkad Rural Service Co-operative Bank Ltd. (MCB) based in Kerala, India, learned that the prime minister of India had announced that large-denomination currency notes would be invalid as of midnight November 8. This demonetization move was to eradicate unaccounted for “black money” from the nation. Co-operative banks like MCB were excluded from the purview of India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, and as a primary agricultural credit society providing short-term credit to rural borrowers, MCB stood out from similar institutions by providing best-in-class banking services and constantly innovating to meet its vision of providing “the pleasure of personal banking” to its customers. MCB was the only bank in India to provide 24/7, 365-day banking operations through its overnight counter, and through a series of innovations, it had successfully pushed the boundaries of a rural co-operative bank to provide maximum convenience to its customers. The secretary of MCB now had to make some critical decisions: How should MCB handle the demonetization crisis with its existing and potential customers? Should MCB keep its overnight counter open? Should the secretary alert the bank’s micro-ATM agents? Would MCB’s parent bank provide funds? How could he address these concerns in a way that would maintain the goodwill MCB had built up among its customers over the past 27 years?

Anand Saboo Foundation (ASF) is a philanthropic organization set up by an industrialist, Anand Saboo, with the aim of transforming poor people into entrepreneurs. Saboo focused on helping women living below the poverty line to become independent and sustainable small business owners. Saboo is himself a self-made entrepreneur, currently in his 70s, who set up Saboo Foundation in 1991. After experimenting with several different philanthropic models, he settled on the "Saboo Foundation Model", which relies on multiple stakeholders, focuses on equipment rather than cash, and links participating women to a customer base and a supply chain. Initial results show that the 362 women who availed a loan during October 2018 to January 2019 had zero default-rate. Participating women reported an average income of Rs. 7000 (93.3 USD) to Rs. 24,000 (320 USD) per month (3 to 4 times higher than their previous earnings). Saboo Foundation's approach is novel and shares more similarities with a venture capital investment model rather than a traditional lending model. Multiple philanthropic, government, semi-government, and non-profit organizations have worked in this space for decades, and the Anand Saboo Foundation, a relative newcomer in this space, so far, has enjoyed extraordinary success. This case study helps students understand the key facets that make a successful philanthropic model, with a focus on how to develop and support micro-entrepreneurs at the bottom of the pyramid.

While open innovation ecosystems allow a firm to harness external sources of value creation, these external ties can also constrain its ability to adapt its innovation strategy to pursue new opportunities. This article looks at how an incumbent firm approached such constraints, and used cognitive artifacts to transform its value chain into a collaborative ecosystem. It examines the case of a 3D printing-enabled shift to mass customization of orthopedic medical implants. The results demonstrate how firms can use artifacts to build a shared understanding across heterogeneous stakeholders as they explore and develop new open innovation models, and how this process can be managed flexibly to avoid adopting a locally (rather than globally) optimal strategy.

Open innovation includes external knowledge sources and paths to market as complements to internal innovation processes. Open innovation has to date been driven largely by business objectives, but the imperative of social challenges has turned attention to the broader set of goals to which open innovation is relevant. This introduction discusses how open innovation can be deployed to address societal challenges - as well as the trade-offs and tensions that arise as a result. Against this background we introduce the articles published in this Special Section, which were originally presented at the sixth Annual World Open Innovation Conference.

In response to societal grand challenges, professors have unique opportunities to effect change, repurposing their expertise to deploy relevant, timely, practical, and research-backed knowledge for the betterment of communities. Drawing on scholarship on postcrisis organizing, the entrepreneurial hustle, and social entrepreneurship, we provide a firsthand, real-time case description of a three-day "virtual idea blitz" organized in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The event was organized and executed in less than a week and ultimately involved 200 individuals, including entrepreneurs, coders, medical doctors, venture capitalists, industry professionals, students, and professors from around the world. By the end of the weekend, 21 ideas with corresponding pitches were developed in five thematic areas: health needs, education, small businesses, community, and purchasing. We describe how the community was rapidly rallied, and we discuss the key learning outcomes of this spontaneous entrepreneurial endeavor. We provide evidence from participants and mentors that showcases the value of the time-compressed virtual idea blitz in accelerating social entrepreneurial action. We offer practical guidance to academic, community, and professional institutions that would like to replicate or build upon our approach to stimulate the formation of community-based and coordinating efforts to thwart the ongoing threat of COVID-19, as well as other societal challenges that might emerge in the future.

Maker spaces-shared production facilities offering access to basic and advanced manufacturing technologies-have quickly become the latest must-have for universities, large corporations, and communities looking to foster entrepreneurship and innovation. While the entrepreneurial and educational prospects of maker spaces are certainly intriguing, questions remain concerning their design and effectiveness. Drawing primarily on case evidence and conversations with five maker spaces located across the U.S., we identify and present six key decisions for maker space leaders looking to foster entrepreneurship in their organizations. We conclude with a decision framework for maker space leaders and a series of questions for entrepreneurs as both groups work to pursue entrepreneurship through and in maker spaces.

In late 2017, the founder of Maple Tree Cancer Alliance faced a new challenge. In 2011, she had launched the non-profit organization to improve the quality of life for cancer patients by providing them with individualized exercise training programs, nutritional guidance, and emotional support during and after cancer treatment. In six years, the organization had expanded to 10 locations in Ohio and Pennsylvania; however, the founder wanted to strategically extend the organization throughout the United States, crossing the geographical and administrative boundaries of the healthcare system. One of her biggest challenges was to identify a growth model to stay sustainable. How could she position the organization for further growth?

GrocerMax, an online grocery retailer based in Gurugram, India, had grown steadily since its inception in 2015, managing to gain a foothold in the highly competitive online grocery market. GrocerMax had also succeeded in achieving higher average order values than many of its rivals. However, in mid-2016, the company faced a number of challenges. As a new entrant, its familiarity and brand awareness among consumers was likely much lower than that of the established competition. How could GrocerMax increase its reach? What promotional activities and marketing strategies could GrocerMax’s management team adopt to drive more traffic to GrocerMax’s website and increase sales while keeping costs under control?

In February 2014, Global 3PL, one of the largest logistics companies in the world, announced an ambitious expansion strategy. In accordance with that plan, the company struck an agreement in 2017 with TradeIX Limited (TradeIX) to optimize its working capital management. TradeIX was a start-up based in Dublin, Ireland that offered blockchain technology solutions to help companies manage trade finance more efficiently, especially in the area of accounts receivable. However, the potential for improvement in the realm of trade finance was heavily restricted by a complex network of suppliers and an organizational structure of silos for data flow. Global 3PL was therefore working on a pilot project with TradeIX, using its Marco Polo platform, to connect with insurance and banking services through a secure network. The process enabled full transparency of all financing transactions in the accounts receivable process. Despite the success of the pilot project, the efficiency of the Marco Polo platform had to be assessed on a technological and strategic level. Determining if the platform could prove to be a long-term sustainable solution for full operation across Global 3PL’s global trade finance system landscape was critical.

In 2016, Grupo Vidawa, a small Colombian software company, launched KANAN Cloud, a freemium software service targeted at small- and medium-sized businesses. The software aimed to help these businesses meet new occupational health and safety (OHS) regulations that were to come into effect in January 2017. A year after launch, KANAN Cloud had only 500 free users and six paying customers. Software use was also extremely low. A few circumstances seemed to explain these results: the OHS regulations appeared overly complex to most small business owners, the regulations kept changing throughout 2017, and the OHS service market became saturated with cheap “quick fix” offers that did not meet legal requirements but fit the immediate needs and tiny budgets of many small businesses. Given this, Grupo Vidawa had to decide the next steps for KANAN Cloud.

Open innovation is a viable strategy to solve wicked problems. However, the complexity of these types of problems renders the management of open innovation initiatives (even) more difficult. How can managers make open innovation for complex or even wicked problems work? This article examines case studies of open innovation initiatives adopting a health care service innovation. It uses the proximity framework to identify several ways in which open innovation barriers can be overcome despite their complexity. The case study findings show how partners leverage their differences to the benefit of service innovation in the face of wicked problems.

In December 2018, Kevin Ryan and Wendy Tsu faced an important decision - to finalize the CEO candidate for Truebird, an innovative, automated coffee café concept. Like many of AlleyCorp and Ryan's companies, Truebird started with the observation of an unmet need - an inability to get good coffee at a reasonable price without a wait. Ryan's track record as a serial entrepreneur included companies such as MongoDB, Gilt Groupe, Zola, and Business Insider. The commonality across AlleyCorp's diverse businesses was a systematic process to ideation, led by Wendy Tsu, and an emphasis on the early Co-founder/CEO. Over the years, Ryan had refined his process of identifying the most appropriate person to serve as CEO. Two strong candidates had been shortlisted for the CEO position at Truebird. Unlike traditional approaches that used the reference check as a safety net, Ryan and Tsu considered reference check interviews as a stronger indicator of on-the-job performance. How should they structure a reference check process that would allow a complete understanding of each candidate? What questions should they ask when they found people who had worked with, or for, each of the candidates?

Zipline established the world's largest logistics network in Rwanda and Ghana by delivering medical supplies to hospitals via automated drones. The company is now looking to expand in the U.S. and partnered with Walmart to expand into home delivery. Zipline must navigate the U.S. regulatory space while prioritizing its growth opportunities domestically and abroad.

In 2018, the chairperson of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (Nissan), Carlos Ghosn, was arrested for alleged misconduct and criminal offences related to underreporting remuneration and misrepresenting annual disclosures. Detailed investigations revealed similar misrepresentations by the company’s chief executive officer (CEO) Hiroto Saikawa, who was forced to resign. The actions of senior officials left a deep stain on Nissan’s reputation, causing investors to question the effect of corporate governance at Nissan—and by extension, at similar companies across Japan and the world. As details of the scandal unfolded, Nissan suffered negative public repercussions. Its share-based incentive systems, excessive focus on profitability, and cost-cutting measures had caused deviations from normal risk management procedures, resulting in the production of poor-quality vehicles and thus vehicle recalls. Consumer trust in the company dropped, as did sales and profitability figures, with a continuous fall in the company’s stock. The company’s new CEO and board of directors were left to make amends for the company’s future. They needed to determine how to strengthen the company’s leadership and governance structure as they worked to make Nissan sustainable and profitable once again. Should they adopt a typical Japanese model of corporate governance, or would a model from elsewhere be more suitable?

Evelynn by Nicole Snobelen was an e-commerce clothing company based in London, Ontario, and was owned and operated by Nicole Snobelen. Snobelen had just been informed that a retail unit had become available for immediate occupancy at The Market at the Western Fair District in London (The Market). The Market housed a farmer’s market on the main floor and an artisan’s market on the second floor that featured distinctive locally handcrafted products. Snobelen had been waiting for a space to become available at The Market for some time, but now that the opportunity was becoming a reality, she wanted to thoroughly assess the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the decision before deciding to jump in.

Capillary Technologies, an Indian customer relationship management software as a service company, provided cloud-based omnichannel customer engagement and related services to retailers and brands. In a country well known for software service companies, based primarily on labour cost advantages, Capillary was founded as a business-to-business software company (i.e., an intellectual property company). After entering several Western markets, which was consistent with its lofty aspirations, Capillary decided to pursue Asian markets. The new venture relocated its headquarters from India to Singapore and made strong efforts to gain revenue in the Asia region—including the large, but intensely competitive, Chinese market. Capillary started by working with Western multinationals that were its customers in other markets. The company then began attracting local customers, as it established a Chinese technology team to cater to the unique technological ecosystems prevalent in China. Over a three-year period, Capillary achieved 200 per cent annual growth. With the opening of a new office in Guangzhou, Capillary then hoped to further deepen its presence in the Chinese market. What could the general manager do to help Capillary reach this goal within the next three years?

LakeDiamond is a company founded in 2015 in Yverdon, close to Geneva, in Switzerland. Its goal was to leverage an industrialized method of producing high-purity diamonds through a process called "micro-wave chemical vapor deposition" (CVD). Such diamonds are much purer than diamonds obtained through mining, allowing for novel industrial uses for diamonds, such as in watchmaking or in developing military applications. An initial funding round allowed LakeDiamond to demonstrate its ability to grow such diamonds in an industrial reactor. In 2017, LakeDiamond's founder Pascal Gallo started seeking new funding to scale up the operation. At the same time, the hype around blockchains had started to drive a surge in startup funding through Initial Coin Offerings (ICO). As Gallo was reluctant to dilute his ownership and control over the venture, he decided to raise the money needed for LakeDiamond's expansion through an ICO. Despite significant press coverage regarding blockchains, ICOs remained at the time relatively niche investments. Therefore, to target a wider base of investors, Gallo partnered with Swissquote, a prominent Swiss online bank that was at the forefront in offering to layman investors access to crypto-currencies. The ICO did raise sufficient funds for new reactors to be purchases and production to start. However, LakeDiamond's sales never really picked up afterwards and by early 2020 the company was filing for bankruptcy. Framed from the perspective of a small investor assessing the opportunity of investing in LakeDiamond's ICO, the case is based on publicly released information by the company, and especially on its ICO. Extensive interviews with ICO experts who assessed the LakeDiamond fundraising at the time were also conducted.

In January 2020, India-based KhataBook, a digital ledger app for small businesses, is led by CEO Ravish Naresh, as his team faces a series of dilemmas regarding where to focus next.

Founded in 2015, Guild Education is an education marketplace that connects employers and universities to provide employees with 'education as a benefit.' The Denver-based company is transforming traditional tuition assistance programs by facilitating direct payment by the employer to the academic institution and by supporting students with coaching and advising. By October 2020, Guild had gained market traction and demonstrated impressive results. Rachel Carlson, CEO and cofounder of Guild, must decide how to manage the company's future growth. She believes there is great potential within its core education marketplace to expand the network of academic institutions and portfolio of company partners. Carlson also envisions extending the business model and entering the career placement market. To successfully do that, she needs to find the same incentive alignment in these new businesses as in Guild's core education platform. Would it be possible to find a solution that would result in a win-win outcome for all?