Lettl, C. (2007). User involvement competence for radical innovation. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, (24), 53-75.
Format: Peer-reviewed article
Type: Research — Non-experimental
Experience level of reader: Fundamental
Annotation: Contrary to a body of literature claiming that consumer involvement skews NDP toward incrementalism, this paper argues that involving the right users, at the right time and in the right form, can actually complement technical and marketing analysis, and facilitate radical innovation.
Setting(s) to which the reported activities/findings are relevant: Government, Large business, Small business (less than 500 employees), University
Knowledge user(s) to whom the piece of literature may be relevant: Manufacturers, Researchers
Knowledge user level addressed by the literature: Organization
This article uses the Commercial Devices and Services version of the NtK Model
Carrier: Firms need to establish a competence in how to systematically identify consumers who are willing and able to contribute to radical innovation in NPD, and how to effectively and efficiently interact with them: 1) Know which users are capable of providing valuable input to innovation projects; 2) Know what interaction patterns with users are appropriate in innovation projects.
Literature review and case study.
Occurrence of finding within the model: Step 6.3, Step 5.3
Method: Empirical studies show that users play an important role for NPD in the field of medical technologies. (Biemans, 1991; Luethje, 2003)
Occurrence of finding within the model: Step 6.3, Step 5.3