Leading innovators are increasingly seeking competitive advantage by combining knowledge and capabilities from many different places. Consider Essilor International SA, the world's largest manufacturer of ophthalmic corrective lenses. It engineers its lenses in Germany, makes blanks from high-transparency polymers in the U.S., and adds micron-thin coatings in Japan. Essilor taps into the best capabilities around the world to create, develop and manufacture leading-edge products.
Very few companies, however, have succeeded in internationalizing their innovation strategies enough to draw on the globally dispersed, complex knowledge needed for today's products and services.
