Henry W. Chesbrough uses this exact notion of "permeable boundary," when he gives his definition of open innovation: "In the open innovation model a company commercialises both its own ideas as well as innovations from other firms and seeks ways to bring its in house ideas to market by deploying pathways outside its current business. Note that the boundary between the company and its surrounding environment is porous, enabling innovations to move more easily between the two." (MIT Sloan Management Review: The era of open innovation, Henry W. Chesbrough) Having this in mind Procter and Gamble created their "Connect and Develop" innovation model.

In order for "Connect and Develop" to become what Procter and Gamble envisioned the company realized it was of the outmost important not to use time and valuable resources on ideas that may be interesting at first but later on prove to have no concrete, specific application....
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