Lead Users Research Articles

Ecopreneurs Creation of User Business Models for Green Tech: An Exploratory Study in E-Mobility

This paper examines ecopreneurship in established ventures that serve as early adopters of radical environmental technologies through so-called user business model innovation. Renewable e-mobility is identified as an appropriate application. The research methodology consists of two steps: a document analysis for developing a typology of ecopreneurs with user business models, and an in-depth case study analysis. We identify four patterns of entrepreneurial user business models in e-mobility: predominantly simple use, complementary business, feedback to core business, and additional business. We also explore the transformation path of the case company, which starts with simple use and then moves to the feedback to core business pattern. By drawing on insights from lead user theory in innovation management and sustainable entrepreneurship, we ground the new concept in extant literature and develop propositions. These propositions uncover some properties of ecopreneurs, the diffusion of environmental technologies, and industry transformations due to user business models.

Technological Disruption as a Driving Force for Coopetition

Coopetition is still a relatively new perspective and paradigm for considering relationships between networks, firms and organizations, and business units. The literature on coopetition focuses on developing several alternative perspectives of coopetition. Integrating theories on coopetition is an essential challenge for scholars of management and marketing. However, one possibility to challenge the contemporary field of coopetition is to introduce new topical themes of business and society and test their relationships with coopetition perspectives. The authors consider one technical disruption—self-driving cars—and its collaboration networks related to coopetition perspectives. Outcomes show the importance of lead users of this disruptive technology. Furthermore, coopetition, and especially competitive networks, seems to be an important strategy for developing new disruptive technologies according to the needs of markets.

The Study of CKM in E-Business Enterprise Based on Lead User

The Study of CKM in E-Business Enterprise Based on Lead User

Role of relevant lead users of mainstream product in the emergence of disruptive innovation

We combine insights received from prior research on the role of lead user and prior investigations of disruptive innovation. Our research illustrates the role of a particular lead user, which we refer to as the relevant lead user, in paving the way for the potentially disruptive technology to be a definitely disruptive one. Through focused consideration, we reveal characteristics that may be significant in identifying users as relevant in relation to potentially disruptive innovation. Our research also reveals that contrary to Christensen's assumption, incumbents do not embrace the inevitable and jump from the old technology to the new. Rather, the transformation occurs over a period of time.

Lead User Method vs. Innovation Contest An Empirical Comparison of Two Open Innovation Methodologies for Identifying Social Innovation for Flood Resilience in Indonesia

Organizations in the humanitarian sector often face problems that are hard to solve owing to their complexity and high hidden solution knowledge. We investigate two problem-solving governance mechanisms in the case of floods in Indonesia. In our study, we compare the costs and benefits of two open innovation tools for identifying social innovation: an innovation contest and the lead user method. An innovation contest is a challenge among participants, who submit potential solutions to a problem that is posted in an open call. In contrast, the lead user method is a structured search process to identify innovators who have already developed solutions for their own needs or those of their peers. While innovation contests have seen significant attention, there is very little evidence that the lead user method is a suitable tool to identify social innovation. In our study, the contest yielded more than twice as much submissions as the lead user method (60 vs. 25). Our analysis reveals that concepts obtained by the lead user method score significantly higher in overall quality as well as regarding use value, feasibility, degree of elaboration, and social impact. The concepts’ novelty do not significantly differ between the two groups. We discuss these findings against the background of the humanitarian sector being torn between capacity overload and the need to overcome a one-size-fits-all approach. By transferring two recognized governance forms for innovation identification from the private sector to the humanitarian sector, we introduce a new path towards empowering local innovators to solve humanitarian challenges.

Lead poisoning among opium users in Iran: an emerging health hazard

BackgroundLead (Pb) poisoning among people using opium has been an increasing problem in Iran. The present study highlights the clinical effects of lead toxicity associated with opium use in Iran, Kerman province.MethodsBetween January 2016 and June 2016, patients with signs and symptoms of Pb poisoning were questioned to assess whether they had a history of opium dependency. In total, 249 patients were enrolled onto this cross-sectional study, all were opium dependent. Para-clinical data including blood lead level (BLL), demographic information, user preferences, and symptoms were obtained.ResultsThe patients used either opium (83.9%), refined opium (6.4%) or a combination of both (9.7%) via ingestion (71.9%), smoking (8.4%) or a combination of both (19.7%). The overall median BLL was 80.0 μg/dL [IQR: 51.7–119.0]. The median BLL did not differ significantly between opium and refined opium users. Further, BLL was not significantly affected by the type of substance, route of use, duration of use, or daily quantity consumed. Common symptoms included abdominal pain (86.9%), constipation (75.8%), anorexia (71.5%) and nausea (54.7%). Linear regression analysis showed log of BLL was significantly associated with abdominal pain, myalgia and anorexia.ConclusionsThe study unravelled an increase in opium-related Pb poisoning in the Kerman province. Raised awareness of this emerging Pb source and investigation of its aetiology is recommended. Pb poisoning should be considered among the primary differential diagnosis of opium users with gastrointestinal symptoms.

Digital anthropology as method for lead user identification from unstructured big data

This paper focuses on lead user identification in an open data context through the principles of digital anthropology (DA). The approach is demonstrated using a case study from the entertainment industry: the festival of Tomorrowland. Following the principles of DA, the specific data structure of the case selected is studied. This structure follows the tribal roles of Cova and Cova, which are then compared with the lead user characteristics of Belz and Baumbach. The different characteristics and roles are used afterwards to establish the user types that may be found in the big data set of the case study. Unlike earlier methods, such as netnography, which focuses on a specific user type as the main source of insights, our results show that DA requires a change of focus from specific individuals to groups of individuals with the capacity to produce the insights of a lead user. DA shows how all the roles in the data structure present different possibilities for innovation. The application of DA to big data enables the extension of analysis to whole populations instead of specific samples, bringing about new possibilities to model and extract the insights of consumers publicly exposed in the digital media.

Big-science organizations as lead users: A case study of CERN

This paper explores the role of big-science organizations in a lead-user context. Lead users are valuable for suppliers because they are active in co-developing products and foreshadowing market ne...

IDENTIFYING LEAD USERS IN A B2B ENVIRONMENT BASED ON PATENT ANALYSIS — THE CASE OF THE CRANE INDUSTRY

Lead users play an important role for innovation; not only in the interfaces between companies and consumers, but also in the interfaces between different companies (B2B). As for companies in many industries, the propensity to protect inventions by patenting is high, we suggest a new method for identifying lead user patents and illustrate it by means of the case of the crane industry. According to this method, we use the conceptual framework of the technology complex, conduct a first patent search with a high recall to generate a base set of patents, clean it, operationalise the technology complex in a way to separate the base set of patents into smaller sets, and inspect the remaining patent set to identify lead user patents. Doing so, we manage to find lead users from different industries, which clearly indicates that patent analysis is highly valuable for their identification in a B2B environment.

Collective design in 3D printing: A large scale empirical study of designs, designers and evolution

This paper provides an empirical study of a collective design platform (Thingiverse); with the aim of understanding the phenomenon and investigating how designs concurrently evolve through the large and complex network of designers. The case study is based on the meta-data collected from 158 489 designs and 247 768 users; and it reveals that (i) Designs can be shared and quickly evolved into other designs through a distributed network of designers, (ii) only a small portion of the users are designers and (iv) collective design has deep and strong evolutionary roots. Better understanding of collective design platforms can help design practitioners to identify lead users in their respective domains and to discover latent needs that stem from different sub-communities or geographic regions.

The Research Review and Prospect on the Lead User

Under the trend of democratizing innovation, lead user becomes an important research object in the field of innovation. Lead user, as an important strategic resource, is at the leading edge of important market trends which will popular in the near future, and they anticipate obtaining relatively high benefits from exploring a solution to their needs. In this paper, the definition, characteristics and function are detailed firstly. Then, the status quo of lead user is introduced, and related research review and the shortage of present research are put forward. Afterwards, an identifying criterion system is built. And finally, the latest trend and further research direction are analyzed.

Market, entrepreneurial, and technology orientations: impact on innovation and firm performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of market, technology, and entrepreneurial orientations (EOs) on both innovation and firm performance. It analyzes the mediating effects of incremental and radical innovation within the context of entrepreneurial firms in Turkey, an emerging economy.Design/methodology/approachThis study empirically analyses the impact of strategic orientations on firm performance through innovation with a sample of 818 small and medium enterprises in Turkey. To test the proposed model, LISREL is used.FindingsProactive market orientation (MO) and technology orientation (TO) lead to radical innovation, while responsive MO strongly affects incremental innovation. EO impacts performance directly and indirectly via both incremental and radical innovation.Practical implicationsFinding suggests that senior management of firms, especially in emerging economies should encourage marketing managers to focus on key trends of markets, both existing and emerging. These marketing managers should find and work with lead users to improve radical product development. This means that those managing marketing need to be well schooled in technology, and they should also possess a proactive MO.Originality/valueThe present study employs a two-part view of the MO construct (responsive and proactive MO). This conceptualization provides a greater degree of precision in the use of the MO concept which was rarely employed in prior studies. Moreover, this paper views strategic orientations as drivers of innovation and examines how radical and incremental innovation mediate the effects of MO, EO and TO on firm performance. Finally, this is one of the few studies to look at all of these factors simultaneously and to include the two-part view of MO.

Prototyping sustainable mobility practices: user-generated data in the smart city

ABSTRACTAlthough smart cities are now the subject of a growing literature, there is a paucity of research which considers how smart city projects develop on the ground. This paper begins to address this concern by exploring the development of a transport application, MotionMap, within the MK:Smart smart city programme. MotionMap aims to provide city-wide real-time transport information services. It is being developed through an ongoing dialogue sparked by the interaction of lead users and prototypes of a smart transport app. We draw on insights from Strategic Niche Management and social practice theories to explore how ‘smart’ might be integrated within and potentially transform the plurality of mobility practices that exist in cities.

Social Media for Identifying Lead Users? Insights into Lead Users’ Social Media Habits

An important and frequently researched concept in the field of open innovation is the integration of lead users into the process for developing innovative product concepts. Social media has offered promising new possibilities for companies in terms of supporting lead user integration. This paper provides an overview of relevant aspects of lead user research, as well as the identification of lead users. Furthermore, we connect lead user theory with social media and discuss possible ways to identify lead users. Based on the conclusion that existing research does not yet sufficiently provide a detailed understanding on identifying lead users in social media, we conducted an empirical study to gain deeper insights in the social media habits of lead users; this involved a case study comprising 20 interviews. This study’s findings present a rather ambivalent picture, concluding that identifying lead users via social media may work with some limitations. Social media can contribute complementary with established approaches like pyramiding to the identification of lead users, but it is not a standalone solution. It strongly depends on the content of the project and on the group of individuals where lead users should be originated. Based on these findings, we derive theoretical and managerial implications and show how companies can utilize social media in addition to established methods for identifying lead users. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of study limitations and recommendations for areas of further research.

Innovation for Safe and Effective Medical Devices: Contributions From Postmarket Surveillance.

Recent years have seen great interest in finding new ways to develop innovative, safe, and effective medical devices. While there has been considerable research on the lead user and open innovation approach, relatively little attention has been given to postmarket surveillance as a valuable source of safety-related information on medical devices. An online questionnaire was sent to 118 postmarket surveillance experts throughout Germany to find out (1) what instruments medical device manufactures use to promote an internal transfer of postmarket surveillance knowledge and (2) to what extent this can lead to impulses for research and development meant to improve or develop new medical devices. Our results showed that technical and human resource-related instruments are of particularly high importance for the intraorganizational transfer of postmarket knowledge. The transfer of this postmarket-related device knowledge can have a positive impact on the improvement or development of (especially incremental) medical device innovations, thus contributing to a company's success and strengthening device-related patient safety at the same time.

Innovation in the Public Sector: Exploring the Characteristics and Potential of Living Labs and Innovation Labs

IntroductionIn the private sector, the rapid development of technology has provided opportunities for firms to launch new products, transform their production processes, and do business in new ways. Different paradigms and frameworks have been developed to assist private organizations in dealing with innovation, such as open innovation (Chesbrough, 2003), (lead) user

Is the Product Concept that the Lead User Produces Really Superior?

Is the Product Concept that the Lead User Produces Really Superior?

Organisational adoption of the lead user method: a follow-up study on intentions versus actions

Users have been shown to be a source of new product ideas, and some users also develop their own solutions. This is not a marginal phenomenon and innovating users - so-called lead users - can be found in all fields. The lead user method (LUM) has several documented advantages, but it has gained far less ground as an everyday approach among companies than more traditional user research methods. In this article, we examine the reasons why LUM is not adopted in an organisation after a successful pilot project. We use rich, longitudinal data from two case companies and find that despite stated intentions and enthusiasm, LUM is not applied repeatedly. Staff turnover, the time and effort required to conduct LUM and the difficulties of adjusting LUM to a specific context were found as reasons why LUM use did not continue. Most importantly, LUM adoption requires the transfer of the evaluative and procedural knowledge of how to conduct it, which appears to be difficult and effortful to transfer to and within the organisation.

Design for reduced resource consumption during the use phase of products

Much work on sustainable design has focused on product manufacture/assembly and end of life. Gains in products’ technical efficiency address the use phase, but how these products are used clearly affects resource consumption. This paper describes two main approaches to reduce resource consumption during product life. Firstly, interventions aim to change user behavior, through information and feedback, as well as physical product affordances abstracted from lead users to guide or steer users toward the desired behavior. Secondly, automatic adjustment of product systems performance levels based on personal user profiles and anticipated usage is implemented using artificial intelligence techniques.

Organisational adoption of the lead user method: a follow-up study on intentions versus actions

Users have been shown to be a source of new product ideas, and some users also develop their own solutions. This is not a marginal phenomenon and innovating users - so-called lead users - can be found in all fields. The lead user method (LUM) has several documented advantages, but it has gained far less ground as an everyday approach among companies than more traditional user research methods. In this article, we examine the reasons why LUM is not adopted in an organisation after a successful pilot project. We use rich, longitudinal data from two case companies and find that despite stated intentions and enthusiasm, LUM is not applied repeatedly. Staff turnover, the time and effort required to conduct LUM and the difficulties of adjusting LUM to a specific context were found as reasons why LUM use did not continue. Most importantly, LUM adoption requires the transfer of the evaluative and procedural knowledge of how to conduct it, which appears to be difficult and effortful to transfer to and within the organisation.