Modeling a Paradigm Shift: From Producer Innovation to User and Open Collaborative Innovation

Carliss Baldwin () and Eric von Hippel ()
Additional contact information
Carliss Baldwin: Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts 02163
Eric von Hippel: Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141

Organization Science, 2011, vol. 22, issue 6, 1399-1417

Abstract: In this paper, we assess the economic viability of innovation by producers relative to two increasingly important alternative models: innovations by single-user individuals or firms and open collaborative innovation. We analyze the design costs and architectures and communication costs associated with each model. We conclude that both innovation by individual users and open collaborative innovation increasingly compete with and may displace producer innovation in many parts of the economy. We explain why this represents a paradigm shift with respect to innovation research, policy making, and practice. We discuss important implications and offer suggestions for further research.

Keywords: user innovation; modularity; open innovation; collaborative innovation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (91)

Downloads: (external link)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1100.0618 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:22:y:2011:i:6:p:1399-1417

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Organization Science from INFORMS Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Asher ().