Customer Involvement into Open Innovation Processes: a Conceptual Model

Abstract

The studies on open innovation as a phenomenon have been increasing dramatically in the few past decades. There are two basic approaches towards open innovation analysis from the firm perspective: 1) open innovation as a result of networking and collaboration of various types of business and non-business organizations, 2) open innovation as a result of firm’s partnership and collaboration with its customers. The paper contributes to the body of scientific innovation related literature which is concentrated to analyse open innovation processes and customer participation in it. Customer involvement and participation in an open innovation process can be analysed while using networking, value creation, or innovation inputs (knowledge for innovation perspective). The paper is based on the later approach, which allows us analysing the customer’s role. The paper proposes the structure for the classification of customer’s roles in the open innovation process, as analysed from the perspective of changing levels of involvement and variety of innovation inputs along the innovation development stages. Drawing on the analysis of customer roles and involvement levels at the certain stages of innovation process, the authors suggest a conceptual model for customer involvement in an open innovation.

http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ss.73.3.793