Not invented here (NIH) is the tendency to avoid using or buying products,research, standards, or knowledge from external origins. It is usually adopted by social,corporate, or institutional cultures. Research illustrates a strong bias against ideas from the outside.[1]
The reasons for not wanting to use the work of others are varied, but can include a desire to support a local economy instead ofpaying royalties to a foreignlicense-holder, fear ofpatent infringement, lack of understanding of the foreign work, an unwillingness to acknowledge or value the work of others, jealousy,belief perseverance, or forming part of a widerturf war.[2] As a social phenomenon, this tendency can manifest itself as an unwillingness to adopt an idea or product because it originates from another culture, a form oftribalism[3] and/or an inadequate effort in choosing the right approach for the business.[4]
The term is typically used in apejorative sense. The opposite predisposition is sometimes called "invented here",[5] "not invented there",[6] "proudly found elsewhere" (PFE)[7] or "invented elsewhere".
A 1982 study by Ralph Katz andThomas J. Allen provides empirical evidence for the "not invented here" syndrome, showing that the performance of R&D project groups declines after about five years, which they attribute to the groups becoming increasingly insular and communicating less with key information sources outside the group.[8]
^Piezunka, Henning; Dahlander, Linus (26 June 2014). "Distant Search, Narrow Attention: How Crowding Alters Organizations' Filtering of Suggestions in Crowdsourcing".Academy of Management Journal.58 (3):856–880.doi:10.5465/amj.2012.0458.
^Webb, Nicholas J.; Thoen, Chris (2010).The Innovation Playbook: A Revolution in Business Excellence. John Wiley and Sons.ISBN978-0-470-63796-8.
