science

Not invented here

Not invented here is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Not invented here rather than just read about it. In short: 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.

Key takeaways

Not invented here belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Not invented here to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Not invented here from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

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. Since 2014, management research has shown the existence of a strong bias against ideas from the outside. The reasons for not wanting to use the work of others are varied, but can include a desire to support a local economy instead of paying royalties to a foreign license-holder, fear of patent 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 wider turf war. 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 of tribalism. The term is typically used in a pejorative sense. The opposite predisposition is sometimes called "invented here", "not invented there", "proudly found elsewhere" (PFE) or "invented elsewhere".

Scientific study A 1982 study by Ralph Katz and Thomas 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.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Not invented here

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Not invented here claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Not invented here before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Not invented here ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Not invented here

In research: Not invented here appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Not invented here in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Not invented here is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Appeals to emotion, Cognitive biases, Economics of intellectual property, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Not invented here outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Not invented here in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Not invented here means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Not invented here out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Not invented here in simple terms?

Why does Not invented here matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Not invented here?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Not invented here.