Collaborative innovation network
A Collaborative Innovation Network，or COIN，is asocial construct used to describe innovative teams.It has been defined by the originator of the term，Peter Gloor as“a cyber team of self-motivated people with a collective vision，enabled by the Web to collaborate in achieving a common goal by sharing ideas，information，and work”.
COINs feature internal transparency and direct communication.Members of a COIN collaborate and share knowledge directly with each other，rather than through hierarchies.They come together with a shared vision because of they are intrinsically motivated to do so and seek to collaborate in some way to advance an idea.
The five essential elements of collaborative innovation networks（what Gloor calls their“genetic code”）are as follows：
（1）Evolve from learning networks
（2）Feature sound ethical principles
（3）Based on trust and self-organization
（4）Make knowledge accessible to everyone
（5）Operate in internal honesty and transparency
COINs rely on modern technology such as the Internet，e-mail，and other communications vehicles for information sharing.Creativity，collaboration，and communication are their hallmarks.COINs existed well before modern communication technology enabled their creation and development.Peter Gloor and Scott Cooper，in their book，describe Benjamin Franklin's“Junto”organization in Philadelphia as a COIN paradigm.Franklin brought together people with diverse backgrounds，from varying occupations，but of like mind to share knowledge and promulgate innovation.
Similar is the concept of the“Self-Organizing Innovation Network”which has been described as follows：“The most valuable and complex technologies are increasingly innovated by networks that self-organize.Networks are those linked organizations（e.g.，firms，universities，government agencies）that create，acquire，and integrate diverse knowledge and skills required to innovate complex technologies（e.g.，aircraft，telecommunications equipment）.In other words，innovation networks are organized around constant learning.Selforganization refers to the capacity these networks have for combining and recombining these learned capabilities without centralized，detailed managerial guidance.The proliferation of self-organizing innovation networks may be linked to many factors，but a key one seems to be increasing globalization.Indeed，globalization and self-organizing networks may be coevolving.Changes in the organization of the innovation process appear to have facilitated the broadening geographical linkages of products，processes，and markets.At the same time，globalization seems to induce cooperation among innovative organizations.”