Expected Social Benefit as a Novel Characteristic of Innovating Users

Abstract

A plethora of studies shows that users innovate for themselves. These so-called “lead users” are generally characterised by being ahead of market trends (months or years) and benefiting significantly from obtaining solutions to their needs. Empirical studies on user innovations focus entirely on individual benefits perceived by users. We suggest expected social benefit as a novel distinguishing characteristic of innovating users in the area of sustainability innovations. The purpose of our empirical study on innovating users regarding electric vehicles is two-folded: First of all, we want to explore whether social benefits are expected by users (or not). If that is the case, we want to gain further insights on the types of social benefits that users perceive and pursue. Our netnographic study of the online communities “Electric Car Forum” and „Electric Bike Forum“ shows that expected social benefits are relevant for innovating users regarding electric vehicles, indeed. We identified a number of posts regarding expected social benefits which can be categorised as follows: 1) protection of the natural environment, 2) contributions to societal transformations, and 3) promotion of social equity. Overall, 34 out of 212 members (16%) of the online community “Electric Car Forum” and 53 out of 633 members (8.3%) of the online community “Electric Bike Forum” could be classified as innovating users. The results of chi-square tests suggest there is a statistically significant difference between innovating and non-innovating users as far as incidence of expected individual and social benefits is concerned.