User-Centric Innovations in New Product Development: Systematic Identification of Lead Users Harnessing Interactive and Collaborative Online-Tools
Bilgram V, Brem A, Voigt KI (2008)
Publication Language: English
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2008
Journal
Publisher: Imperial College Press
Book Volume: 12
Pages Range: 419-458
Journal Issue: 3
Abstract
Corporate innovation management geared to long-term success calls for a strategy to grow innovations into a substantial competitive advantage. This, however, coincides with an enormous failure-rate at the market, especially in the field of breakthrough innovations. Hence, in recent times, companies are trying to alleviate the risk of lacking user-acceptance through opening their innovation processes to external actors, particularly customers. The method of integrating lead users is determined by the effective and systematic identification of leading-edge customers, which is considered to be a critical phase within this approach. With the arrival of Web 2.0 applications, there is a huge potential to improve these selection processes. Our research into online communities and weblogs scrutinised the search criteria in an online environment and revealed the following characteristics as crucial factors for the online identification of lead users: being ahead of a market trend, high expected benefits, user expertise and motivation, extreme user needs as well as opinion leadership and an online commitment.
Corporate innovation management geared to long-term success calls for a strategy to grow innovations into a substantial competitive advantage. This, however, coincides with an enormous failure-rate at the market, especially in the field of breakthrough innovations. Hence, in recent times, companies are trying to alleviate the risk of lacking user-acceptance through opening their innovation processes to external actors, particularly customers. The method of integrating lead users is determined by the effective and systematic identification of leading-edge customers, which is considered to be a critical phase within this approach. With the arrival of Web 2.0 applications, there is a huge potential to improve these selection processes. Our research into online communities and weblogs scrutinised the search criteria in an online environment and revealed the following characteristics as crucial factors for the online identification of lead users: being ahead of a market trend, high expected benefits, user expertise and motivation, extreme user needs as well as opinion leadership and an online commitment.
Read More: http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1363919608002096
Read More: http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1363919608002096
Authors with CRIS profile
Alexander Brem
Lehrstuhl für Technologiemanagement
Kai-Ingo Voigt
Lehrstuhl für Betriebswirtschaftslehre, insbesondere Industrielles Management
Involved external institutions
Germany (DE)How to cite
APA:
Bilgram, V., Brem, A., & Voigt, K.-I. (2008). User-Centric Innovations in New Product Development: Systematic Identification of Lead Users Harnessing Interactive and Collaborative Online-Tools. International Journal of Innovation Management, 12(3), 419-458.
MLA:
Bilgram, Volker, Alexander Brem, and Kai-Ingo Voigt. "User-Centric Innovations in New Product Development: Systematic Identification of Lead Users Harnessing Interactive and Collaborative Online-Tools." International Journal of Innovation Management 12.3 (2008): 419-458.
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