Innovative users’ diffusion channel selection: effects of lead userness and tacit need knowledge

Abstract

ABSTRACT Innovative users can not only generate ideas for new products, but also self-select whether to share their ideas with peers or producers. Different innovative users have different degree of lead userness, and their ideas are usually rooted in tacit need-related knowledge. Because it has been well established that the characteristics of innovators and their innovations can influence the diffusion of an innovation, there is a conjecture that lead userness and tacit need knowledge can associate with innovative users’ diffusion channel selection. In this paper, we report the first empirical exploration. Based on survey data from 414 innovative users in Japan, we found that lead userness increases their likelihood of commercial diffusion versus peer diffusion and that this relationship is stronger when their needs-related knowledge is relatively explicit. We discuss the implications and limitations of these findings.