The Role of the Users in the Innovation Process

Studies of the origins of successful innovation have indicated that sources external to the innovating organisation account for between 34% (Gibbons and Johnston 1974) and 65% (Langrish et al 1972) of the inputs important to the innovation process. This external input has been found to arise from a diverse range of sources, including users, academia, suppliers, competitors and government research laboratories. In particular, users or customers, have been shown to play an important, and sometimes dominant, role in the innovation process across a wide range of industrial sectors (for example, Hippel 1976, 1977a, 1978b, Spital 1979, Shaw 1985). This paper reviews the literature in a discussion of: the nature and extent of the role of the user in the innovation process; the arguments forwarded to explain variations in the role of the user between industrial sectors; the patterns and incentives for transferring ideas and prototypes from users to producers; the advantages to producers of incorporating users in the innovation process; the role of product usage and modification in re-innovation; and the importance of lead users and tough customers in the design and development process. Full reference: Conway, Steve (1993) The Role of Users in the Innovation Process, Doctoral Working Paper Series, No. 10 (NS), Aston Business School.

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