This chapter focuses on two emerging patterns that characterize innovation in the knowledge economy: (a) the increasing openness of the innovation process thanks to the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT); (b) the emerging role of customers as co-creators of innovation. The underlying theme of our chapter is that ICT have created the problem – an increasing need for continuous innovation in a context where information is transparent, competitors are just one click away, and product lifecycles are shrinking. However, ICT also provide the solution - enabling new forms of value co-creation with customers and an efficient way to harness distributed competences (von Hippel, 2001a; Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2004). While customer interaction has always been important in new product development (e.g., Griffin and Hauser, 1993; Leonard, 1995; von Hippel, 2001b; Thomke and von Hippel, 2002), the widespread deployment of ICT has greatly enhanced the ability of firms to engage with customers in the product innovation process (Dahan and Hauser, 2002b; Urban and Hauser, 2004). Great emphasis has been put on the potential of the Web as a tool of adaptive co-development of new products which allows consumers to become co-developers of innovation with companies which systematically solicit their feedback by using iterative prototyping and adopting a rapid experimentation approach (Bhattacharya, Krishnan, Mahajan, 1998; Iansiti and MacCormack, 1997). Effectively designed Web sites can not only provide useful information to help consumers express their preferences but can also contribute to increasing consumer trust and, consequently, customer willingness to share information (Urban, Sultan, Qualls, 2001). By creating virtual customer environments, firms can tap into customer knowledge through an ongoing dialogue (Nambisan, 2002). The Internet, for instance, enhances the ability of firms to engage customers in collaborative innovation in several ways. It allows firms to transform episodic and one-way customer interactions into a persistent dialogue with customers. Through the creation of virtual customer communities, it allows firms to tap into the social dimension of customer knowledge shared among groups of customers with shared interests (Sawhney and Prandelli, 2000). And it extends the reach and the scope of the firm’s customer interactions through the use of independent third-parties to reach non-customers – competitors’ customers or prospective customers (Verona, Prandelli, Sawhney, 2006). Firms can use a variety of mechanisms to facilitate collaborative innovation in virtual environments (Dahan and Hauser, 2002a; Prandelli, Verona, Raccagni, 2006). These mechanisms differ in terms of the stage of the new product development process that they are most useful for, and the nature of the customer interactions they enable. We present detailed anecdotes to show how best practice firms are using these mechanisms to improve the speed, cost, and quality of their new product development process. Through these in-depth case studies, we derive lessons for organization and strategy, as well as the implications for academics and managers

“Co-developing New Products with Customers”

PRANDELLI, EMANUELA;VERONA, GIANMARIO
2008

Abstract

This chapter focuses on two emerging patterns that characterize innovation in the knowledge economy: (a) the increasing openness of the innovation process thanks to the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT); (b) the emerging role of customers as co-creators of innovation. The underlying theme of our chapter is that ICT have created the problem – an increasing need for continuous innovation in a context where information is transparent, competitors are just one click away, and product lifecycles are shrinking. However, ICT also provide the solution - enabling new forms of value co-creation with customers and an efficient way to harness distributed competences (von Hippel, 2001a; Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2004). While customer interaction has always been important in new product development (e.g., Griffin and Hauser, 1993; Leonard, 1995; von Hippel, 2001b; Thomke and von Hippel, 2002), the widespread deployment of ICT has greatly enhanced the ability of firms to engage with customers in the product innovation process (Dahan and Hauser, 2002b; Urban and Hauser, 2004). Great emphasis has been put on the potential of the Web as a tool of adaptive co-development of new products which allows consumers to become co-developers of innovation with companies which systematically solicit their feedback by using iterative prototyping and adopting a rapid experimentation approach (Bhattacharya, Krishnan, Mahajan, 1998; Iansiti and MacCormack, 1997). Effectively designed Web sites can not only provide useful information to help consumers express their preferences but can also contribute to increasing consumer trust and, consequently, customer willingness to share information (Urban, Sultan, Qualls, 2001). By creating virtual customer environments, firms can tap into customer knowledge through an ongoing dialogue (Nambisan, 2002). The Internet, for instance, enhances the ability of firms to engage customers in collaborative innovation in several ways. It allows firms to transform episodic and one-way customer interactions into a persistent dialogue with customers. Through the creation of virtual customer communities, it allows firms to tap into the social dimension of customer knowledge shared among groups of customers with shared interests (Sawhney and Prandelli, 2000). And it extends the reach and the scope of the firm’s customer interactions through the use of independent third-parties to reach non-customers – competitors’ customers or prospective customers (Verona, Prandelli, Sawhney, 2006). Firms can use a variety of mechanisms to facilitate collaborative innovation in virtual environments (Dahan and Hauser, 2002a; Prandelli, Verona, Raccagni, 2006). These mechanisms differ in terms of the stage of the new product development process that they are most useful for, and the nature of the customer interactions they enable. We present detailed anecdotes to show how best practice firms are using these mechanisms to improve the speed, cost, and quality of their new product development process. Through these in-depth case studies, we derive lessons for organization and strategy, as well as the implications for academics and managers
2008
9780470694275
Karin Tollin, Antonella Carù
Strategic Market Creation: A New Perspective on Marketing and Innovation Management
Prandelli, Emanuela; Verona, Gianmario
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11565/53283
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