How internal users contribute to corporate product innovation: the case of embedded users

Abstract

Harnessing tacit knowledge rooted in use experience and exploiting it for innovation is a major challenge for firms. This paper explores 'embedded users' as a mechanism to extract and utilize such knowledge for innovation. Embedded users are firm employees, who are also users of the firm's products. They are embedded into the firm and into the use context outside the firm, and also integrate need and solution-related knowledge. Owing to these characteristics, embedded users are very capable of innovating. We shed light on this hitherto under-researched phenomenon and explore how embedded users contribute to corporate innovation. More specifically, we explore the resources and capabilities that they deploy during the innovation process. We use interview data from 23 firms (35 interviews) in the sporting, leisure, and individual healthcare industries. Our findings show that embedded users draw on knowledge resources (use knowledge, solution knowledge, and organizational knowledge) and social resources (structural, relational, and cognitive capital) relevant for innovation. They deploy specific capabilities during all phases of the innovation process, that is, during ideation (idea generation, external information absorption, and competitive intelligence), development (specification setting and testing), and marketing (company representation and opinion leadership). We contribute to the literature by showing that user activities are not only relevant outside, but also within the organization. We also show that employees can access use-related resources for innovation and that they act as boundary spanners for need knowledge.

Intra‐organizational user‐centred design practices: The impact of design research departments at design consultancies

“…Our study adds to the existing user involvement and innovation management literature with a focus on process‐oriented rather than results‐oriented approach to product development and innovation. There is a tendency to evaluate the impact of user involvement with the study of a certain phase in product development (e.g., fuzzy‐front end of design) or from a results‐oriented perspective measured through such concepts as increased innovation capacity (e.g., Schweisfurth & Herstatt, ; von Hippel, ) and user satisfaction (e.g., Cagan & Vogel, ; Parmentier & Gandia, ). These approaches may possibly overlook the larger impact of user involvement on organizations.…”

User knowledge utilization in innovation of complex products and systems: An absorptive capacity perspective

“…User knowledge-that is, knowledge from and about users (Khodakarami & Chan, 2014)-is particularly valuable for innovation, as it provides insights into users' current and future needs (Lüthje, 2004;Schweisfurth & Herstatt, 2016), contributing to manufacturers' understanding of what creates value for users in what kind of situations (Lüthje, 2004). User knowledge-that is, knowledge from and about users (Khodakarami & Chan, 2014)-is particularly valuable for innovation, as it provides insights into users' current and future needs (Lüthje, 2004;Schweisfurth & Herstatt, 2016), contributing to manufacturers' understanding of what creates value for users in what kind of situations (Lüthje, 2004).…”

“…User knowledge-that is, knowledge from and about users (Khodakarami & Chan, 2014)-is particularly valuable for innovation, as it provides insights into users' current and future needs (Lüthje, 2004;Schweisfurth & Herstatt, 2016), contributing to manufacturers' understanding of what creates value for users in what kind of situations (Lüthje, 2004). Users' needs are often in the form of tacit knowledge (Schweisfurth & Herstatt, 2016;Schweisfurth & Raasch, 2015)-knowledge that is contextually rooted in action (Polanyi, 1966)-that is difficult for the users to articulate (Nonaka, 1994). Users' needs are often in the form of tacit knowledge (Schweisfurth & Herstatt, 2016;Schweisfurth & Raasch, 2015)-knowledge that is contextually rooted in action (Polanyi, 1966)-that is difficult for the users to articulate (Nonaka, 1994).…”

“…An influential research stream has focused on how companies collaborate with users to promote innovation (Bogers, Afuah, & Bastian, 2010;Randhawa, Wilden, & Hohberger, 2016). Users have been found to be valuable sources of knowledge that companies must take into account in order to develop innovations that have relevance and meet demands (Lüthje, 2004;Schweisfurth & Herstatt, 2016). User knowledge includes knowledge of current and future needs (Lüthje, 2004;Schweisfurth & Herstatt, 2016), ideas (Holt, 1988;Magnusson, 2009), the context of use (von Hippel, 1994), and what creates value for users and in which situations (Lüthje, 2004).…”

“…Users have been found to be valuable sources of knowledge that companies must take into account in order to develop innovations that have relevance and meet demands (Lüthje, 2004;Schweisfurth & Herstatt, 2016). User knowledge includes knowledge of current and future needs (Lüthje, 2004;Schweisfurth & Herstatt, 2016), ideas (Holt, 1988;Magnusson, 2009), the context of use (von Hippel, 1994), and what creates value for users and in which situations (Lüthje, 2004). Understanding users' needs and translating them into new product designs is a critical factor in development processes (Callahan & Lasry, 2004) and innovation (Griffin & Hauser, 1993;von Hippel, 1986).…”