GE's Ecomagination Challenge: An Experiment in Open Innovation

Henry Chesbrough · 2012 · California Management Review

Summary. GE's ecomagination Challenge used open innovation to solicit green energy ideas from external entrepreneurs and startups, investing $140 million across 23 ventures by 2011. The case examines whether this approach delivered sufficient returns relative to GE's massive energy business, and considers how the company should measure success and structure future open innovation efforts to generate meaningful commercial outcomes.

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Chesbrough, H.. (2012). GE's Ecomagination Challenge: An Experiment in Open Innovation. California Management Review. https://doi.org/10.1525/cmr.2012.54.3.140

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  author  = {Henry Chesbrough},
  journal = {California Management Review},
  year    = {2012},
  doi     = {10.1525/cmr.2012.54.3.140},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1525/cmr.2012.54.3.140}
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Details

DOI: 10.1525/cmr.2012.54.3.140
Countries: United States
Regions: North America
Categories: energy, innovation-networks, entrepreneurship, general-innovation
Added: 2026-04-28