This article examines the “multiunit back-end problem” of open innovation based on a case study of the Banque Populaire Caisse d’Epargne (BPCE) Group, a large French bank with two business units. The multiunit back-end problem occurs when internal business units who consider themselves rivals are asked to collaborate for the success of an open innovation initiative. BPCE failed several times to use external startups to accelerate its digital transformation due to rivalry between its internal business units. This article presents guidelines that firms with rival business units can use to align their front-end and back-end when working with startups to accelerate their digital transformation program.

本文以法国大型银行Caisse d'Epargne（BPCE）集团为例，研究了开放式创新的“多部门后端问题”，该集团是一家拥有两个业务部门的大型法国银行。当内部业务部门被视为竞争对手的内部业务部门被要求合作以实现开放式创新计划的成功时，就会发生多单元后端问题。由于内部业务部门之间的竞争，BPCE多次失败使用外部初创公司来加速其数字化转型。本文提供了一些指导方针，与竞争业务部门竞争的公司在与初创公司合作以加速其数字化转型计划时可以用来调整其前端和后端。