Designing the Organization for User Innovation

Abstract

<p>There is increasing consensus among practitioners and academics alike that we are in the midst of a paradigm shift from producer-centered and internal innovation processes toward user-centered and open innovation processes. This paradigm shift induces significant changes to the design of organizations. Even though the research field of user innovation has been developing over a period of more than four decades, there have been only occasional intersections with the research field of organizational design. In this paper we aim to provide an integrated perspective of the two fields. We first identify major user innovation strategies. We then derive the implications of each user innovation strategy on key dimensions of organizational design. We conclude with an outlook on symbiotic producer-user ecosystems and the corresponding implications for organizational design.</p&gt

Business models for open innovation: Matching heterogeneous open innovation strategies with business model dimensions

“…As business models reflect the strategic choices of the company (Margretta, 2002;Zott & Amit 2008), the choice of open innovation requires that the company defines those ways to create, deliver and capture value in conjunction with external partners that are consistent with open innovation (Hienerth et al, 2011;Vanhaverbeke, 2006). As support of this overall proposition, empirical evidence strongly suggests that organizational design, practices and capabilities need to be aligned with open innovation strategies, so as to positively influence the sourcing of knowledge from external parties and its subsequent exploitation for innovation (Foss, Laursen & Pedersen, 2011;Salge et al, 2012;Keinz et al, 2012;Jansen, van den Bosch & Volberda, 2005). These findings indicate that companies wishing to engage in open innovation must (at least partly) re-organize their business models as to accommodate their open innovation strategies and to subsequently enhance innovative performance.…”

“…Relatedly, originating from organization and innovation management literature, an emerging research stream strongly suggest that companies that adopt open innovation practices need to carefully design the internal organizational aspects of their business models to positively influence the sourcing of knowledge from external parties and its subsequent exploitation for innovation (e.g., Foss et al, 2011, Salge et al, 2012Hienerth et al, 2011;Keinz et al, 2012 and business models need to be aligned.…”

“…However, recent studies reveal that companies that have successfully capitalized on integrating external sources of knowledge into their innovation processes primarily stand out in organizational terms: They are characterized by organizational flexibility and a willingness to restructure their existing business models to accommodate open innovation strategies (Hienerth, Keinz & Lettl, 2011;Keinz Hienerth & Lettl, 2012;Chesbrough & Schwartz, 2007;van der Meer, 2007). We define business models as the content, structure, and governance of transactions inside the company and between the company and its external partners in support of the company's creation, delivery and capture of value (Santos, Spector & van der Heyden, 2009;Zott & Amit, 2008.…”

The role of employee autonomy for open innovation performance

“…Even in studies showing that connections to the outside world are necessary but not sufficient (Whelan et al, 2011), the organisational requirements for openness remain unclear. There is scant research but increasing attention to organisational mechanisms that support OI strategies (Keinz et al, 2012).…”

Digital Strategies of Consumer Involvement and Innovation Dynamics: A Cross-Sector Explorative Study

“…There is increasing consensus among academics and practitioners on the paradigm shift from internal innovation to open innovation processes (Keinz, Hienerth & Lettl, 2012). Focus is placed on the limitations of traditional production-based innovation processes in order to overcome the commodity trap.…”