Abstract
The advent of the open innovation approach, together with the increased sophistication of new IT tools, has excited several researchers’ interest in user innovation. However, most such research remains fragmented and limited in its scope. The aim of the present study is to explore the role of IT throughout all the different phases of user innovation process and their associated advantages and disadvantages. In doing so, the study draws on material gleaned from three cases of companies in their attempt to integrate users and customers during the different phases of the innovation process. The study shows that IT tools are not enough rather they need to be complemented with more traditional modes of interactions and communications with their customers and users. This is all the more so as customers and users in other parts of the world differ with regard to their preferences, technical maturities and access to IT. The chapter ends with conclusions and some implications for theory and practice of open innovation technologies.
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Further Reading
Chesbrough, H. W. (2011b). Open services innovation: rethinking your business to grow and compete in a new era. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Lazzarotti, V., & Manzini, R. (2009b). Different modes of open innovation: A theoretical framework and an empirical study. International Journal of Innovation Management, 13(4), 615–636.
Lettl, C. (2007b). User involvement competence for radical innovation. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 24(1–2), 53–75.
Lindič, J., Baloh, P., Ribière, V. M., & Desouza, K. C. (2011). Deploying information technologies for organizational innovation: Lessons from case studies. International Journal of Information Management, 31(2), 183–188.
Piller, F. T., & Walcher, D. (2006b). Toolkits for idea competitions: a novel method to integrate users in new product development. R&D Management, 36(3), 307–318.
von Hippel, E. (2001b). Perspective: User toolkits for innovation. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 18(4), 247–257.
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Hürlimann, M., Yakhlef, A. (2013). Open Strengths and Weaknesses of IT User Innovation: Evidence from Three Cases. In: Eriksson Lundström, J., Wiberg, M., Hrastinski, S., Edenius, M., Ågerfalk, P. (eds) Managing Open Innovation Technologies. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31650-0_14
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