Quilts of Denmark: Managing Open Innovation

Wim Vanhaverbeke

Quilts of Denmark was a Danish start-up company founded in 2000 with the goal of producing high-quality, functional quilts and pillows that contributed to healthy sleep. The company's open innovation with a space agency and technology company resulted in an "intelligent" quilt that regulated body heat, providing users with an elusive but much-desired experience: a good night's sleep. Selling a premium product in a commodity market was a challenge, and competitors were close behind. In 2010, Quilts of Denmark was preparing to introduce a new generation of temperature-regulating quilts, and the company's founders needed to decide how to introduce their newest innovation to the market.

Learning Objective

The primary objective of this case study is to show how small and medium-sized organizations in low-technology industries can avoid slipping into purely price-based competition (the commodity trap) by using open innovation. After studying the case, students should understand the following: The role of the founders' vision The challenges small and medium enterprises face when they engage in open innovation with external partners The potential problems in differentiating a functional quilt from ordinary quilts The importance of the right strategy for launching a new generation of functional quilts

Details

Pub Date: Dec 16, 2016

Discipline: Entrepreneurship

Subjects: Licensing, Manufacturing, Open innovation

Source: Ivey Publishing

Product #: W16851-PDF-ENG

Teaching note: Available

Industry: Manufacturing, Textiles

Geography: Denmark

Length: 13 page(s)