Length of assignment = 1500 words

The assessment involves application of concept, methods and tools related to open innovation and intrapreneurship in relation to a specific case. The assessment prepares student for modules where open innovation and intrapreneurship is addressed in more detail. Case resources and articles on intrapreneurship and open innovation are provided below.

Assessment Details - Lego Mindstorms NXT and Lego Architecture

You work for a well-known children’s toy manufacturing company. You have been requested to identify if there is an opportunity to learn from practices of contemporary product innovation exploration and execution practices outside the company to improve the product success rate of the company. Your boss read about the approach by Lego in a recent high profile management magazine and requested you to identify if there is anything your company can learn about best practices of innovation and business development from Lego Mindstorms NXT and Lego Architecture product innovation and business development efforts. The Lego Mindstorms kit is as sophisticated robotics system that includes an intelligent 'brick', sensors, software and Lego pieces and allows users to make very sophisticated robots. Lego Architecture celebrates the past, present and future of architecture through the medium of the Lego brick. Read the following case studies: (i)The Development of Lego Mindstorms NXTand (ii)The Development of Lego Architecture.

Lego MindstormsRubic's cube solver (1 min).

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Lego Architecture video (2 min.) about a product example from the Lego Architecture product category.

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Lego Mindstorms NXT video (2 min.), the video illustrates the use of Lego Mindstorms NXT in an educational setting

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Open innovation at LEGO

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Write a short report to respond to your manager’s request. The report must answer the following questions:

  1. Use the business model canvas to illustrate and explain the Lego Architecture business model. What are the differences when compared to the Lego System / Lego City business model?
  1. Compare and contrast the Lego Mindstorms NXT and Lego Architecture intrapreneurship and open innovation approach with the suggestions by Blank (2013), Onyemah, Pesquera & Ali (2013) and Chesbrough (2006).
  1. Based on the Lego resources provided, identify who performs the A-to-F innovation roles for Lego City, Lego Mindstorms NXT and Lego Architecture. Your starting resources include:National Geographic video, article by Koerner (2006) and the case studies listed above.
  1. What are the risks involved in engaging external stakeholders (such as suppliers, retailers and users) in co-creation?
  1. What are the prerequisites to make co-creation work?
  2. What are the implications of co-creation for the roles of top management and middle managers?

Use full References

1)Blank, S. 2013, Why the lean start-up changes everything, Harvard Business Review, Vol.91, No. 5, p.63-72.

See attachment 1

2)Chesbrough, H.W. 2003, ‘The Era of Open Innovation,MIT Sloan Management Review, Vol. 44, No.3, p.35-41. The journal article is available on p.35 in the following collection: 2011, Top 10 Lessons on the New Business of Innovation, Sloan Select Collection,MIT Sloan Management Review.

See attachment 2

3)Onyemah, V. Pesquera, M.R & Ali, A. 2013, What entrepreneurs get wrong, Harvard Business Review, Vol.91, No. 5, p.74-79.

See attachment 3

4)Koerner, B.I 2006, Geeks in toyland,Wired Magazine, February 2006, available on

5)Hunter, D. 2013, Block party: how architecture helped rebuild Lego,The Conversation, 16 October 2013, viewed on

6)Koerner, B.I 2006, Geeks in toyland,Wired Magazine, February 2006, This is an article about how Lego engaged lead users in product development. Lego built a global empire out of little plastic blocks, then conquered the wired world with a robot kit called Mindstorms. So when the time came for an upgrade, they turned to their obsessed fans - and rewrote the rules of the innovation game. available on

7)Foss, N.J. Pedersen, T. Pyndt, J. & Schultz, M. 2012, Chapter 3: Lego redefining the boundaries,Innovating Organization & Management: New sources of competitive advantage,

8)Lafley A.G. & Charan, R. 2008, Chapter 8: Managing the risk of innovation (4 pages on Lego risk management),The game changer, Crown Business.

9)Robertson, D. Breen, B. 2013: Chapter 7: Fostering open innovation,Brick by Brick: How Lego rewrote the rules of innovation and conquered the global toy industry,

support your arguments with relevant citations from academic journals, professional literature, practical examples and personal experience Referencing style should be Harvard referencing style