2020/11/03 by Thuy Seran, Thuy Séran, Sea Matilda Bez · 35 citations
Business, Management and Accounting · #Business #Business Strategy and Innovation #Business administration #Computer science #Digital Platforms and Economics #Digital transformation #Economics #Industrial organization #Innovation and Knowledge Management #Marketing #Rivalry #Strategic business unit #Unit (ring theory)
paper · open access · doi:10.1177/0008125620968609
published in California Management Review 63(2), 135-157 (SAGE Publishing)
openalex publication_date 2020/11/03 · openalex created_date 2020/11/09 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
This article examines the “multiunit back-end problem” of open innovation based on a case study of the Banque Populaire Caisse d’Epargne (BPCE) Group, a large French bank with two business units. The multiunit back-end problem occurs when internal business units who consider themselves rivals are asked to collaborate for the success of an open innovation initiative. BPCE failed several times to use external startups to accelerate its digital transformation due to rivalry between its internal business units. This article presents guidelines that firms with rival business units can use to align their front-end and back-end when working with startups to accelerate their digital transformation program.