Abstract
Living Labs—innovation units established to introduce new methods and approaches into public sector organizations—have received a lot of attention as methods for experimentation and open innovation practices in public sector organizations. However, little is known so far about how they co-create public value and which conditions influence these co-creation practices. Therefore, the research questions are: which organizational factors influence the process of public value co-creation and which outcomes and values are produced as a result? The research questions were answered by employing a qualitative research approach conducting semi-structured interviews with employees and participants of three living labs in Germany and Austria. The results show top-level support and lab leadership as the most important context factors. Living labs produce tangible and intangible outcomes. The tangible outcomes are the products developed within the lab, and the intangible outcomes are created by the interaction between the lab’s participants. The main contributions are twofold: first, context factors are identified that lead to the success of co-creation processes within living labs. Second, the study contributes to the literature on public value because it is shown that participation in living labs itself leads to added value in addition to the tangible and intangible outcomes.
Highlights
Living Labs are a method to enhance the innovation capabilities of public sector organizations (Schuurman and Tõnurist 2017; Tõnurist et al 2017; Gascó 2017)
Context factors are identified on the level of the parent organization as well as on the level of the living lab itself
The study was guided by two research questions: (1) Which organizational factors influence the process of value co-creation within living labs? (2) What outcomes and public value are produced by living labs? it is discussed how the findings expand the existing literature on living labs and public value co-creation
Summary
Living Labs are a method to enhance the innovation capabilities of public sector organizations (Schuurman and Tõnurist 2017; Tõnurist et al 2017; Gascó 2017). Schuurman and Tõnurist (2017) argue that living labs need to be distinguished from innovation labs; this differentiation seems artificial given that innovation labs and living labs share many similarities. Both use experimentation, prototyping, and design thinking as their main methods (Eriksson et al 2005; Følstad 2008; McGann et al 2018). They represent a physical space and thereby provide a dedicated environment for stakeholders to meet and collaborate (Almirall and Wareham 2011; Bloom and Faulkner 2016). Different from innovation and living labs because they contribute to policy development through applying design thinking (Lewis et al 2019; Fleischer and Carstens 2021) and are exclusively located in a public sector environment
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
