Beating 'Not Invented Here' Syndrome (Wentz, 2024)

Welcome to Revise and Resubmit, the podcast where we dig into the most fascinating research shaping the world of business, management, psychology, and more. Today, we’re diving into a syndrome that, despite being invisible, can seriously stifle innovation within organizations—the 'Not Invented Here' Syndrome, or NIH. Our featured article, 'Beating Not Invented Here Syndrome', is authored by Rolf-Christian Wentz and published on August 5th, 2024, in the MIT Sloan Management Review. It’s important to highlight that this journal is part of the prestigious FT50 list—the top 50 business journals in the world as recognized by the Financial Times. In this article, Wentz recounts a real-life case he witnessed as the managing director of SC Johnson’s German subsidiary. Despite a highly successful product launch by the company’s Asian subsidiary, it went largely unnoticed at the US headquarters due to NIH syndrome—a bias against ideas not born within the 'home base.' Wentz’s German team recognized the potential of this product, made small adaptations, and launched it locally, turning it into a market leader with a 50% share. This story illustrates how NIH syndrome, a bias against external ideas, can cause organizations to miss out on game-changing innovations. While there are rational reasons for rejecting some external knowledge, the research shows that this bias affected over 80% of the 565 innovation projects surveyed globally. We’d like to extend our thanks to Rolf-Christian Wentz for sharing this insightful study, and to Massachusetts Institute of Technology for publishing this critical work in one of the world’s most prestigious journals. So, the question we’re left with—how much innovation are we missing out on because of biases like NIH syndrome? Let’s find out. Reference Wentz, R. (2024). Beating 'not invented here' syndrome. MIT Sloan Management Review, 66(1), 12-13. https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/beating-not-invented-here-syndrome/