Surveying innovation in samples of individual end consumers

European Journal of Innovation Management - Tập 19 Số 3 - Trang 406-423 - 2016
Jeroen P.J. de Jong1
1Utrecht University School of Economics, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Tóm tắt

Purpose– Rather than businesses, individual end consumers may develop innovations for themselves. Innovating consumers generally do not protect their innovations with intellectual property rights and may be generally available – a phenomenon recently coined as “free innovation” (von Hippel, 2016). The purpose of this paper is to take stock of how innovation by individual consumers has been measured, and to propose a survey procedure for future studies of consumer innovation.Design/methodology/approach– The author provides a literature review of how innovation by individual end consumers has been measured, and reports on a pilot study conducted in Finland to improve and standardize the measurement of consumer innovation.Findings– The survey procedure includes up to six steps which can be tailored to specific research purposes.Originality/value– The procedure will enable better international/cross-study comparisons and an efficient collection of data.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

Baldwin, C.Y. and von Hippel, E. (2011), “Modeling a paradigm shift: from producer innovation to user and open collaborative innovation”, Organization Science , Vol. 22 No. 6, pp. 1399-1417.

Bengtsson, L. (2015), Consumer Innovation in Sweden , Vinnova, Stockholm.

Bush, V. (1945), Science: The Endless Frontier , US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.

Cooper, R.G. (2003), “Profitable product innovation: the critical success factors”, in Shavinina, L.V. (Ed.), The International Handbook on Innovation , Elsevier Science, Amsterdam and Boston, MA, pp. 139-157.

Cooper, R.G. (2014), “What’s next? After stage-gate”, Research Technology Management , Vol. 157 No. 1, pp. 20-31.

de Jong, J.P.J. and von Hippel, E. (2013), “User innovation: business and consumers”, in Gault, F. (Ed.), Handbook of Innovation Indicators and Measurement , Edward Elgar, Cheltenham and Northampton, MA, pp. 109-132.

de Jong, J.P.J. (2011), “Uitvinders in Nederland (Inventors in the Netherlands)”, Research Report A201105, EIM, Zoetermeer.

de Jong, J.P.J. (2013), “User innovation by Canadian consumers”, analysis of a sample of 2,021 respondents, Commisioned by Industry Canada (unpublished).

de Jong, J.P.J. , von Hippel, E. , Gault, F. , Kuusisto, J. and Raasch, C. (2015), “Market failure in the diffusion of consumer-developed innovations: patterns in Finland”, Research Policy , Vol. 44 No. 10, pp. 1856-1865.

Edquist, C. and Hommen, L. (1999), “Systems of innovation: theory and policy for the demand side”, Technology in Society , Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 63-79.

Edquist, C. (2011), “Design of innovation policy through diagnostic analysis: iden-tification of systemic problems (or failures)”, Industrial and Corporate Change , Vol. 20 No. 6, pp. 1725-1753.

Franke, N. and Reisinger, H. (2003), “Remaining within cluster variance: a meta analysis of the dark side of cluster analysis”, working paper, Vienna Business University, Vienna.

Franke, N. and Shah, S. (2003), “How communities support innovative activities: an exploration of assistance and sharing among end-users”, Research Policy , Vol. 32 No. 1, pp. 157-178.

Gault, F. (2012), “User innovation and the market”, Science and Public Policy , Vol. 39 No. 1, pp. 118-128.

Godin, B. (2006), “The linear model of innovation: the historical construction of an analytical framework”, Science, Technology, & Human Values , Vol. 31 No. 6, pp. 639-667.

Hienerth, C. , von Hippel, E. and Jensen, M.B. (2014), “User community vs producer innovation development efficiency: a first empirical study”, Research Policy , Vol. 43 No. 1, pp. 190-201.

Kuusisto, J. , de Jong, J.P.J. , Gault, F. , Raasch, C. and von Hippel, E. (2013), “Consumer innovation in Finland: incidence, diffusion and policy implications”, Report No. 189, Proceedings of the University of Vaasa, Vaasa, September.

Lakhani, K.R. and Wolf, B. (2005), “Why hackers do what they do: understanding motivation and effort in free/open source software projects”, in Feller, J. , Fitz-Gerald, B. , Hissam, S. and Lakhani, K.R. (Eds), Perspectives on Free and Open Source Software , MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp. 3-22.

Lüthje, C. (2004), “Characteristics of innovating users in a consumer goods field: an empirical study of sport-related product consumers”, Technovation , Vol. 24 No. 9, pp. 683-695.

Lüthje, C. , Herstatt, C. and von Hippel, E. (2002), “The dominant role of local information in user innovation: the case of mountain biking”, Working Paper No. 4377-02, MIT Sloan School of Management, Cambridge, MA.

Ogawa, S. and Pongtanalert, K. (2011), “Visualizing invisible innovation content: evidence from global consumer innovation surveys,” working paper, Kobe, June, available at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1876186 (accessed May 27, 2012).

Oliveira, P. and von Hippel, E. (2011), “Users as service innovators: the case of banking services”, Research Policy , Vol. 40 No. 6, pp. 806-818.

Raasch, C. and von Hippel, E. (2013), “Innovation process benefits: the journey as reward”, MIT Sloan Management Review , Vol. 55 No. 1, pp. 33-39.

Schumpeter, J.A. (1934), The Theory of Economic Development , Oxford University Press, New York, NY.

Shah, S. (2000), “Sources and patterns of innovation in a consumer products field: innovations in sporting equipment”, Working Paper No. 4105, MIT Sloan School of Management, Cambridge, MA.

Shah, S.K. and Tripsas, M. (2007), “The accidental entrepreneur: the emergent and collective process of user entrepreneurship”, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal , Vol. 1 Nos 1-2, pp. 123-140.

Tsipouri, L. , Reid, A. and Miedzinski, M. (2008), “European innovation progress report 2008”, DG Enterprise and Industry, European Commission, Bruxelles.

von Hippel, E. (1976), “The dominant role of users in the scientific instrument innovation process”, Research Policy , Vol. 5 No. 3, pp. 212-239.

von Hippel, E. (2005), Democratizing Innovation , MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

von Hippel, E. (2016), Free Innovation , MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

von Hippel, E. , de Jong, J.P.J. and Flowers, S. (2012), “Comparing business and household sector innovation in consumer products: findings from a representative study in the United Kingdom”, Management Science , Vol. 58 No. 9, pp. 1669-1681.

von Hippel, E. , Ogawa, S. and de Jong, J.P.J. (2011), “The age of the consumer-innovator”, MIT Sloan Management Review , Vol. 53 No. 1, pp. 27-35.