La co-création de produits avec les consommateurs représente un axe majeur d’innovation pour les entreprises. Cependant, la question du choix de la cible à privilégier pour une co-création efficace reste en suspens. Cette recherche souhaite apporter une réponse en confrontant deux approches opposées : le crowdsourcing vs. le ciblage de certains segments de consommateurs tels que les lead-users (LU) et les emergent-nature consumers (EN). Pour répondre à cette problématique, une étude préliminaire suivie de trois études empiriques structure cette recherche. La première étude (N = 133) répond au problème d’identification des LU dans le domaine de la grande consommation en démontrant la supériorité d’une échelle de mesure face à d’autres concurrentes. La deuxième étude (N = 456) met en avant les principales motivations qui poussent les LU et les EN à co-créer et, dans le même temps, montre que ces mêmes individus sont compétents et prêts à s’engager dans des actions de co-création avec les entreprises. La troisième étude (N = 400 et N = 800), basée sur une quasi-expérimentation, révèle que le produit développé par un petit groupe de LU est globalement plus attractif que le produit développé suivant l’approche de crowdsourcing. En outre, cette dernière étude montre que les produits développés par les LU sont plus attractifs que ceux des EN. L’ensemble de ces résultats plaide en faveur du ciblage des LU pour la co-création de nouveaux produits et offre des perspectives managériales prometteuses. Enfin, ce travail doctoral apporte, de surcroît, un éclairage théorique sur le concept de co-création et ses différentes formes. / In order to innovate, companies are increasingly relying on product co-creation with consumers. However, choosing the right target for an effective co-creation remains an unresolved issue. In this research, two contrasting approaches are compared: crowdsourcing vs. targeting specific consumers such as lead-users (LU) and emergent-nature consumers (EN). To address this problem, a preliminary study was conducted, followed by three empirical studies. The first study (N = 133) focuses on the identification of LU in the domain of consumer goods and highlights the superiority of one measurement scale among others. The second study (N = 456) throws light on the main motivations that drive LU and EN to co-create and, at the same time, shows that these two targets are competent and willing to engage in co-creation activities with firms. Based on a quasi-experimentation, the third study (N = 400 and N = 800), reveals that the products developed by a small group of LU are generally more attractive than the products developed using crowdsourcing. In addition, this final study shows that the products developed by LU are more attractive than those developed by EN. All of these results suggest that companies should target LU for the co-creation of their new products and, offer promising managerial perspectives. Finally, this doctoral work provides new theoretical insights on the concept of co-creation and its various forms.

Tese de mestrado. Inovação e Empreendedorismo Tecnológico. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 2010

This thesis focuses on contribution of users in innovation activities. Through the case analysis of a mid-small sized tech company specialized in technology testing, we study one of the main innovative projects, undertaken for a client. Employing interviews and questionnaires throughout our research, we identify characteristics of client-users who contribute substantially in the ideation development and testing of the new innovation. The company deviating from their routinized testing activities, integrate the knowledge generated by those users in a particular way. We observe, analyze and make a critique upon those knowledge integration strategies, implemented by the company at this stage. The study highlights how the firm responds to the stimulus of those users involvement, aiming to give an interpretation of the phenomenon.

Lead users are proposed as a valuable resource for marketers in terms of the (1) development, (2) adoption, and (3) diffusion of new products. We present the first consumer study to provide evidence that the latter two suggestions are justified. First, we find that lead users demonstrate stronger domain-specific innovativeness than more "ordinary" users. Second, lead users perceive new technologies as less "complex" and might therefore be better prepared to adopt them. Third, we find that lead users demonstrate stronger opinion leadership and weaker opinion seeking tendencies. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings for the marketing of new products. (authors' abstract)

Bakgrund och problemformulering - Vi har valt att studera och analysera i vilket avseende det sker user innovation på ett forum skapat av företaget Salesforce. Forumet är ett brand community för användare som utvecklar Salesforce tjänster. Frågeställningarna behandlar om det sker olika typer av user innovation och vad det är som driver användarna till att innovera på det forum vi har valt att studera. Vår studie syftar till att bidra med en bredare kunskap och förståelse kring ämnet då det finns begränsad forskning kring user innovation inom online brand communities idag. Teori - Begreppet brand communities förklaras utifrån Muniz och O’Guinns (2001) synsätt som innebär att ett online brand community är en samlingsplats på internet dedikerat till ett specifikt varumärke. På vårt valda brand community innoverar användarna och vi utgår från Gault (2012) för att redogöra för begreppet innovation som i sin tur möjliggör en fördjupad förståelse för user innovation. Vi utgår från en definition av user innovation som innebär att användare innoverar för sin egen skull (von Hippel & Euchner 2013). Metodologi - Vi eftersträvar en djupare förståelse för user innovation på vårt specifika forum och då lämpar sig en kvalitativ explorativ ansats bäst. Inspiration har hämtats från Kozinets (2006, 2011) kvalitativa metod netnografi som innebär en deltagande-observerande forskning på nätet. Resultat - I detta avsnitt presenterar vi de likheter och skillnader som Salesforce forum har med Muniz och O’Guinns (2001) kriterier för vad ett brand community är. Vidare presenteras vårt resultat i form av två kategorier av user innovations: modifierade innovationer och skapande innovationer. Kategorierna förklaras och illustreras med exempel som klargör deras innebörd. Analys och diskussion - I analysen diskuterar vi vad som driver användarna på vårt valda forum att innovera och analyserar likheter och skillnader med redan befintliga teorier kring user innovation. Vi resonerar oss fram till en ny term vi väljer att kalla user co-innovation samt spekulerar i huruvida innovationerna genererar någonting för Salesforce. Slutsats - Vårt teoretiska bidrag till forskningen presenteras genom vår modell som illustrerar sambandet mellan user innovation, user co-innovation och våra två kategorier. Modellen innefattar vilka användare som innoverar, vilkafaktorer som driver dem till att innovera och resultatet av user co-innovation på vårt valda brand community.Nyckelbegrepp - Innovation, user innovation, lead users, brand community, online community, netnografi. / Background and problematization -We have chosen to study to what extent user innovation occurs on a forum created by the company Salesforce. This forum is a brand community devoted to user development of Salesforce services. Our main research question is whether there occur different types of user innovations on the brand community we are studying and what it is that drives these users to innovate. Our study aims to contribute with a wider knowledge and understanding of user innovation on brand communities since the research of today on the subject is limited. Theory - In this chapter we explain the concept of brand community based on Muniz and O’Guinns (2001) definition which implies that an online brand community is an online meeting place for people dedicated to a specific brand. User innovation occurs on our chosen brand community and we base ourselves on Gaults (2012) theory to explain innovation in order to explain the term user innovation. We use one definition of user innovation which implies that users innovate for themselves (von Hippel & Euchner 2013). Methodology - We seek a deeper understanding of user innovation on our specific brand community and that makes a qualitative exploratory approach best suited. Inspiration has been taken from Kozinets (2006, 2011) netnography which is a qualitative method and involves participatory observation research online. Results - In this chapter we present the similarities and differences that we have been able to identify between Salesforce forum and the criteria for a brand community set by Muniz and O’Guinn (2001). Furthermore we introduce our result which consists of two categories of user innovations: modified innovations and creativity innovations. The categories are explained and illustrated with examples that clarify their meaning. Analysis and discussion - In this chapter we discuss what drives users on our chosen brand community to innovate and analyze similarities and differences between already existing theory on user innovation. Our discussion results in a new term which we choose to name user co-innovation. We also speculate whether the user innovations generate something of value for Salesforce. Conclusion - Our theoretical contribution to the subject is presented by our model that illustrates the connection between user innovation, user co-innovation and our two categories. The model includes which users that innovate, the factors driving them to innovate and the results of user co-innovation on our chosen brand community.

Bien que le phénomène de co-Création prenne de l'ampleur dans les pratiques actuelles des entreprises, ces dernières se déclarent souvent déçues par la faible créativité effective des utilisateurs « ordinaires » à générer des idées de nouveaux produits. Ce travail doctoral cherche à répondre au questionnement général suivant : peut-On améliorer l'efficacité des démarches de co-Création avec des utilisateurs ? Si l'identification des utilisateurs créatifs est un enjeu crucial pour les entreprises, il est également essentiel pour ces dernières de faire en sorte de stimuler les capacités créatives des utilisateurs enrôlés dans les processus d'innovation. Cette thèse s'intéresse donc au phénomène d'imagerie mentale qui a souvent été souligné en psychologie pour son implication dans les processus créatifs. Trois études quantitatives explorent la relation entre la capacité individuelle d'imagerie mentale et la capacité créative de sujets. Les résultats obtenus identifient la capacité d'imagerie mentale comme une variable révélatrice de la capacité créative des individus et constituant ainsi un élément possible d'identification des individus créatifs. Une quatrième étude montre qu'il est possible d'agir, par le biais d'instructions d'imaginer mentalement, sur les processus d'imagerie suspectés d'être en œuvre dans les processus créatifs, de manière à améliorer la créativité résultante. Ces résultats mettent en évidence l'imagerie mentale comme un mécanisme sous-Jacent explicatif des processus créatifs. Enfin, une cinquième expérimentation, plus conséquente en matière de variables examinées, étudie l'effet de deux types de stimulations de l'activité d'imagerie, à savoir : la présence d'une stimulation d'imagerie liée à soi (versus non liée à soi) et la présence (versus l'absence) d'un entraînement préalable à l'imagerie mentale. L'étude confirme le rôle médiateur de l'imagerie mentale et met en évidence les effets favorables de ces stimulations sur la quantité, l'originalité, l'utilité perçue et l'attrait des idées produites. Le rôle modérateur de variables individuelles – le caractère lead user et l'implication envers la catégorie de produit – a également été examiné. / Although co-Creation is a phenomenon increasingly present in various business practices, companies are often disappointed by the low effective creativity of "ordinary" users to generate ideas for new products. This doctoral research aims to answer the following general question: Can we improve the effectiveness of co-Creation processes with users? If the identification of creative users is a critical issue for businesses, then it is also essential to ensure stimulation of the creative abilities of the users enrolled in the innovation process. This thesis is interested in mental imagery, a phenomenon that has often been cited in psychology for its implication in the creative process. In this work three quantitative studies explore the relationship between the individual's imagery ability and their creative ability. The obtained results identify the mental imagery ability as a variable indicating the creative ability of individuals and thus constituting a potential element for identifying creative individuals. A fourth study shows that it is possible to impact, via instructions to form mental images, the mental imagery process that is implemented in the creative process, thus improving the resulting creativity. These results highlight mental imagery as an underlying mechanism of the creative process. Finally, a fifth experiment, more consistent in terms of the variables examined, studies the effect of two types of stimulation of imagery activity: self-Related vs. non self-Related imaging stimulation, and the presence vs. absence of mental imagery training. The study confirms the mediator role of mental imagery and highlights the favorable effects of these stimulations on the quantity, originality, perceived usefulness and the customer appeal of the generated ideas. The moderator role of individual variables - leadership and involvement with the product category - was also examined.

An issue of great concern for amputees continues to be lack of proper fit and comfort in their sockets. This lack can often be attributed to changes in the shape of the residual limb that cannot be compensated for by existing prosthetic socket technology. In regions where cost is a prohibitive factor in the replacement of ill-fitting prosthetic sockets, the need for a volume adjustable, and potentially longer lasting, socket design is abundant. This research focuses on designing a volume adjustable lower limb prosthetic socket that accommodates the needs of amputees in underdeveloped countries using collaborative design techniques. Though advocated as a means of accurately identifying and satisfying their needs, including end-users in the design process often adds an additional layer of complexity because of differences in culture, language, or geography among the participants. This research therefore includes a study in which product design techniques were applied to the same volume adjustable socket design problem with a variety of users – typical users, lead users, and new Empathic Lead Users - from different countries, one developed and one developing. To overcome differences among participants, this research includes an alternative strategy to create Empathic Lead Users (ELU) from non-user product design engineers through the use of simulated lead user experiences. As a result of this study, customer needs analysis with ELU helps to identify 95% of traditional and lead user customer needs and 100% more latent needs, and possibly more avenues for product innovations, than interviewing lead or traditional users alone. The concepts generated by all users were also compared. Based on the resulting concepts’ novelty, variety, quality, and quantity, all users were able to satisfactorily complete the concept generation exercises and produced competitive design solutions. Using the concepts generated during this co-design study, a volume adjustable socket was developed. The final socket design, based on the analogous rotational movement of a camera aperture, is pursued through mechanical and subject testing. Early users of the socket liked the design and it has been demonstrated to provide the necessary volume adjustments, but future design iterations to improve its comfort are necessary. / text

Tidigare forskning har visat att kundinvolvering kan ske på olika nivåer, där dehögsta nivåerna bidragit till bland annat ökad kundnöjdhet, konkurrenskraftigafördelar och förbättrat införande av nya tjänster hos organisationerna. Syftet medstudien har varit att bidra med kunskapsutveckling kring Radikal Kundinvolveringinom tjänstesektorn. Begreppet var nytt för forskningsområdet och få tidigarestudier visade effekterna av djupgående kundinvolvering. Den teoretiskareferensramen inleddes med kundfokus inom Offensiv kvalitetsutveckling,kundengagemang och kundinvolvering för att slutligen mynna ut i begreppetRadikal Kundinvolvering. Den kunskapsteoretiska utgångspunkten i studien harvarit hermeneutisk med abduktiv ansats. Kvalitativa djupintervjuer har använts sommetod för datainsamling. Till intervjuerna valdes fyra organisationer sombedömdes ha arbetat med Radikal Kundinvolvering och frågor rörandeerfarenheter, effekter och framtidsutsikter ställdes utifrån en semistruktureradintervjumall. Intervjumaterialet analyserades med utgångspunkt frånforskningsfrågorna. Förutom att stärka resultaten från tidigare forskning, visadeförfattarnas slutsats på att organisationerna kombinerade olika metoder förkundinvolvering och att effekterna av Radikal Kundinvolvering blev stärktorganisationskultur, ökad kommunikation och delaktighet. Arbetet ledde också tillatt kundgrupper vars åsikter vanligtvis inte fångades genom traditionella metoderblev hörda. / Previous research shows that customer involvement can occur on different levels,where the highest ones have had effects like increased customer satisfaction,competitive advantages and improved introduction of new services for theorganisations. The purpose of the study was to develop a deeper knowledge ofRadical Customer Involvement within service development. The term was new tothe field of research the and few studies had mentioned the effects of deepercustomer involvement. The theoretical framework leads the reader from customerorientation within Total Quality Management, customer engagement and customerinvolvement to Radical Customer Involvement. The research method washermeneutic with an abductive approach. Qualitative in-depth interviews wereused to collect data. Four organisations that were considered working with RadicalCustomer Involvement were chosen for the study and questions involvingexperiences, effects and the future of the field were asked with the help of a semi-structured interview guide. The analysis was based on the questions of the study.Besides strengthening previous research, the authors conclusion showed that theorganisations combined different methods of customer involvement and thatRadical Customer involvement had positive effects on the organisations culture,communication and participation. It also helped raise the voice of customers thattraditional methods were unable to reach. / <p>2019-06-27</p>

Co-creation is a new approach to the development of videogames, films, television, music and other creative services. It is a manifestation of open innovation paradigm where the firm collaborates with customers in new service development (NSD) activities. Firm can either co-create with individual customers, or with customer communities. Customers may substantially contribute to ideation, design, production, testing, marketing or distribution of a new or existing service. Customer networks, because of their intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, contribute to the development of services. They have a potential to innovate, as their ideas come from the outside of the organization and reflect their need-related knowledge. Via co-creation a firm can also learn about unarticulated or future customer needs, and what kind of service features they would pay the most for. Co-creation has also benefits for marketing. By inviting customers to participate in their activities, firms can capitalize on positive word of mouth and increased value ascribed to their services. They can also engage in new models of raising finance, i.e. crowdfunding. We studied thirteen videogames firms in North America and in Western Europe. Our goal was to gain insight into their NSD activities when customers were also involved. We observed those studios’ co-creation practices, tracked their communications with customers, and spoke to employees in all levels and functions of those firms. We also participated in various related events. We identified three ideal types of co-creation practice: structured, semi-structured, and loose, and ordered the firms into three cases according to these types. We investigate the main factors that determine co-creation’s practice in firms, as well as firms’ ability co-create. This includes a firm’s propensity for and style of co-creation. We identify four relevant co-creation competences which, together with funding arrangements and organizational culture, influence co-creation. We find that co-creation can occur via formal, as well as informal channels. Informal co-creation takes place on the level of individual interactions between employees and customers (and is linked to hidden innovation), while formal relies on the strategic use of contests, volunteer programs, as well as other legally-regulated exchanges. Firms can use co-creation in NSD to source ideas from the customers, as well as to enhance their marketing by redefining customer relationship. Still, co-creation also has a profound transformative effect on the organization itself. We identify the sites within a firm that are affected by co-creation. Those sites go beyond just the content of the service, and include functions of the firm that normally are hidden from customers (back-end and service design functions). The new service development is also affected. Similarly, the way that firm interacts with its customers is transformed, too.

Användarinvolvering är en central del av produktutvecklingsprocessen då den sätter grunden för hur produkten som utvecklas kommer att mottas av användarna. Utvecklingen av skidor för utförsåkning är en väldigt teknisk process som innefattar många komplicerade steg. Användarna involveras på olika sätt inom olika företag. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur olika företag går tillväga under sin produktutvecklingsprocess när det kommer till graden av användarinvolvering. Studien undersöker även hur användarinvolveringen skiljer sig mellan olika användargrupper samt vilka fördelar användarinvolvering medför. En litteraturstudie gjordes för att bygga en teoretisk referensram som ligger i grunden för arbetet. Därefter intervjuades fyra olika små skidtillverkare. Tre av tillverkarna kommer från Sverige och en av dem kommer från Schweiz. Intervjuerna transkriberades och koder plockades ut för att skapa en grund till empirin. Koderna skapade fem teman som presenterar resultaten från intervjuerna. De fem temana är: produktutvecklingsprocessen, användarinvolvering, fördelar med användarinvolvering, nackdelar med användarinvolvering samt användarinvolvering beroende på användargrupp. Företagen jämfördes mot varandra och mot litteraturen för att skapa slutsatser från studien. Studien kom fram till att användarinvolvering är viktigt för att företagen ska veta vad användarna i slutändan vill ha för produkt. Användarinvolveringen ska påbörjas så tidigt som möjligt i processen för att det skapar mer möjligheter för justeringar än sen involvering gör. Det är också viktigt att företaget bygger på passionerade anställda och att de användare som involveras är duktiga skidåkare för att kunna ge bra återkoppling på skidorna. Användarna kan tillföra mycket när det kommer till åkegenskaper och känsla men när det kommer till det mer tekniska i skidan så som material är användarna sällan tillräckligt pålästa för att kunna tillföra något. / User involvement is a central part of the product development process due to its importance on how the product develops and will be received by the users. The development of free-ride skis is a very technical process that includes many complicated steps. The users are involved in many different ways within different companies.  The purpose with this study is to examine how different companies go about during their product development process, when it comes to the degree of user involvement. The study also investigates how the user involvement differs between various user groups, as well as what advantages user involvement brings.  A literature study was made to build a theoretical frame that underlies the work. Thereafter four minor ski-companies were interviewed. Three of the companies come from Sweden and one of them comes from Switzerland. The interviews were transcripted and codes were taken out to create a foundation to the empirics. The codes created five themes that present the result from the interviews. The five themes were: the product development process, user involvement, advantages with user involvement, disadvantages with user involvement and user involvement regarding user groups.  The companies were compared against each other and against the literature to create conclusions from the study. The study concluded that user involvement is important for companies to know what users ultimately want from the product. User involvement should be started as early as possible in the process, because it creates more opportunities for adjustments than late involvement does. It is also important that the company is based on passionate employees and that the users involved are competent skiers to be able to give good feedback on the skis. The users can add much information about the feeling in the skis and what characteristics they would want in the skis but they rarely have enough information to add anything important to the technical parts such as materials of the ski.