Types of User Integration

Both on the level of product development and in the area of communication the transparent and dialogical integration of consumers in the innovation process has some important advantages. When the users’ experiences and everyday knowledge concerning specific products are put together with the expertise of companies, processes of mutual learning, divergent thinking and the revealing of implicit, “sticky” information can be successfully activated (Kristensson/Gustafsson/Archer 2004; von Hippel 2005; Hoffmann 2007).

The different value creation potentials of this user integration can be linked to certain phases of the innovation process, e.g. product-development, design or promotion (Reichwald/Piller 2006). Advantages that are especially important on the high-competitive consumer goods market are: a) increased market acceptance by attending to consumer needs at an early stage, b) reducing the risk of a flop by the identification and the avoidance of barriers impeding (regular) consumption patterns, c) successful diffusion on the mass market and d) betimes evaluation of socio-ecological effects resulting from sustainable consumption (Lüthje/Herstatt 2004; Hoffmann 2007).

Still not all users can be comparably effectively and efficiently integrated in the innovation process. In the innovation management literature especially the concept of the so called lead user became of central interest (von Hippel 1986; Lüthje/Herstatt 2004; Franke/von Hippel/Schreier 2006).

The term “lead user” was introduced by Eric von Hippel (1986). He stated that concerning the innovativeness there is a progressive segment of users who are well ahead of ordinary users. Lead users are highly valuable persons in the innovation context, because they actively initiate inventions and are -with their special knowledge and motivation- driving forces throughout the different innovation phases. Their working results are consequently product inventions with high market potential (Lüthje/Herstatt 2004; Franke/von Hippel/Schreier 2006; Hoffmann 2007).

These lead users can be identified by two characteristics:

1. They are ahead of a certain trend, this means, they have new needs –not yet satisfied by existing market offers- significantly earlier than the mass market.

2. Consequently they expect high benefit from inventions that provide a solution to those identified problems and needs.

Especially for the consumer goods market, these characteristics can be differentiated in more detail. We define lead users by scoring high on the dimensions 1) new needs, 2) opinion leadership, 3) dissatisfaction with existing products, 4) use experience, 5) know-how concerning materials and technologies and 5) high involvement (Lüthje 2000; Walcher 2006).

We would appraise corporate citizens as lead users in the sustainability context, because they act intentionally according to sustainable categories, realizing that there is a strong need for action concerning socio-ecological grievances worldwide. Their capability to make consumption choices in line with sustainable and ethical considerations has its foundation in their profound consumption related experiences and knowledge. Thereby consumer citizens can be classified as progressive and leading compared to the mass market. Additionally we assume a pronounced involvement of consumer citizens, resulting from a high identification with sustainability-endeavors and obvious dissatisfaction with existing consumption patterns, products and service offerings. Therefore consumer citizens very much qualify themselves for being role models and opinion leaders in their surroundings in the context of sustainability. Corporate citizens have consequently the capability and basic motivation to adopt central roles in the invention, introduction and diffusion phases of sustainable innovation processes.

Looking at the different methods of user-integration in the context of sustainability inno-vations, we can classify these methods following the structuring of Pobisch, Eckert & Kuster-mann (2007) along two dimensions, namely interaction and integration (see figure 2). These dimensions focus exclusively on the dyad consumer-corporation. Especially innovation-workshops but also communities, enable high integration and high interaction of both players. If the influence on consumers as co-designers (mass customization) or co-producers (open innovation) is taken seriously, high integration in corporate processes has to be given, but especially the dimension of interaction has to be focused on.

We state that the two dimensions considered in figure 2 do not capture the phenomena of user-integration-methods on a central point: The great potential of a community or an innovation-workshop does not exclusively stem from the interaction of the corporation and the user, but especially lies in the cooperation, social exchange and collaborative idea generation of users with each other. They create a myriad of ideas, motivate each other and use synergistic effects to perform more effectively and efficiently as a group as they could have done as individuals. Therefore, the central extension of this concept is the introduction of consumer-consumer-interaction as third dimension.

Extending the model of methods of user integration (Pobisch et al. 2007) and analyzing the concept of interactive value creation (Reichwald/Piller 2006) on a new dimension is a promising supplement of current research approaches mainly focusing on individuals and their bidirectional exchange with companies. However, to make use of consumer-consumer-interaction, certain success factors have to be considered.
3.1. Success Factors of Consumer-Consumer-Interaction

In this context especially one enabling and therefore basic success factor is the Worldwide Web, which makes user integration and interaction possible that is not restricted by time or place. These aspects are already represented in the dimensions of Pobisch et al. (2007). But in the context of fast IC-technical advances -especially in the field of the so called Web 2.0 and its social software- the newly introduced third dimension of consumer-consumer-interaction has become increasingly interesting for internet users worldwide as an opportunity to represent themselves, to form groups as well as to generate and upload own content. In this context again, the focus on group dynamics evolving through these newly established online-interaction-tools is a promising and up-to-date research topic (Hagel/Amstrong 1997; Kozinets 2002; Füller et al. 2006).

We then propose to differentiate the success factors and their value creation potential to three phases (see figure 3). Firstly, we analyze the ex ante factors of participating in an interaction in the innovation context: What do we expect by participating in a group? Which social needs can be satisfied through group membership? Secondly, we concentrate on the process phase and the underlying group dynamics from an holistic perspective: Which synergistic potentials evolve, when people with different competences, creative potentials, vocational backgrounds, ages and needs work together? What will be the difference for a company to work with a group of voluntary innovators and not concentrating on the single individuals? And ending with the questions, which subsequent phenomena and productive outcomes of cooperating individuals can be expected (ex post factors)?

Figure 3: Research Model of Consumer-Consumer-Interaction Potentials

One focus is to identify the fundamentals and substructures encouraging non-paid participation and voluntary engagement. Basic psychological motives like achievement, affiliation and power (McClelland 1985) have to be applied on participants and complemented by motives special for group memberships, like need for social appraisal, peer recognition and identification with the in-group as well as just enjoying to be socializing (Hennig-Thurau et al. 2004; Füller et al. 2006). The special extension of our research will be a strong focus on potential differences of participation motives in the context of sustainability in contrast to participation in “ordinary” innovation areas, assumingly foremost a) realization of a strong need for action, b) expecting high benefit from solving the “problem” and c) social appraisal.

This aspect is the focal point, because it reflects best the substantial extension of the structuring of user-integration-methods mentioned before (Pobisch et al. 2007). Many success-factors of people working together as teams and groups are well known in the literature of the occupational- and organizational psychology. Therefore, modern businesses are grounded on working groups (Benders/Huijgen/Pekruhl 2001). Groups are successful for improving decision making, facilitating the solving of problems, enhancing productivity by combining complementary abilities and competencies, and last but not least, working in groups is more enjoyable than working alone (Diehl/Stroebe 1991; Glassop 2002). Additionally cooperating individuals can enhance their creative potential (Perry-Smith/Shalley 2003; Baer/Jacobsohn/Hollingshead 2007). These findings have been widely neglected in the context of innovation management but we believe they are crucial here as well.

The central thesis states that through consumer integration, sustainable innovations and con-sequently sustainable consumption is going to be realized, improved and accelerated. Following the credo “From knowledge to behavior”, we could appraise consumer-consumer-interaction enabling platforms as interactive knowledge-oriented techniques, which are impactful instruments for “sustainability education” of consumers.

On the other hand, they could also be classified as norm-oriented techniques. When defining these interacting and cooperative consumers, especially online communities, as defined groups, important psychological phenomena can evolve that would be helpful to foster sustainable consumption behavior: By offering a chance to identify with, groups build up a collective identity, commitment to the cause and a certain shared attitude, which will foster corresponding behavior (Ajzen 1985; Sewell 1998; Thøgersen 2004).

Loyalty and group-approved behavior will be important in the context of fostering sustainable consumption but also essential in the context of a successful relationship management of companies. The consumers’ attitude, satisfaction and loyalty related to certain products should be partly transferable to the company. Especially loyalty is seen as the key driver of managerial success on consumer markets (Chaudhuri/Holbrook 2001).

Sustainable innovations offer a great potential to foster socially and environmentally responsible behaviour of consumers and enable companies to be successful on high competitive markets. By integrating users, the priorities of market-orientation and high creative potential can promisingly be realized. Especially in the context of sustainability, consumer citizens qualify themselves very much -with regards to their capabilities and basic motivation- as sustainable lead users.

Beneath the characteristics of the individual who should be integrated, we emphasized the importance and the essential impact of cooperation and social exchange in the context of innovation, extending existing research on methods of user integration and interactive value creation in open innovation processes by the newly introduced consumer-consumer-interaction dimension.

We then proposed to differentiate the success factors and their value creation potential of interaction to three phases. Firstly, the ex ante factors, namely motivational aspects of participation, which in the context of sustainability is determined by the strong need to act and the expectation of beneficial outcome if realized successfully. Secondly, process factors concentrating on group dynamics from a holistic perspective, especially heightened efficiency and effectiveness known from modern organizations based on working groups, now transferred to voluntary and autonomic groups of users in the open innovation context. Thirdly, ex post factors, meaning the influence of interaction on the attitude and behavior of the individual, focusing on its relevance for fostering sustainable consumption and enabling companies to be successful on the economic dimension.

5. References

Ajzen, I., 1985. From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior. In J. Kuhl & J. Beckmann (Eds.), Action-Control: From cognition to behavior (pp. 11-39). Heidelberg: Springer.

Füller, J.; Bartl, M.; Ernst, H.; Mühlbacher, H., 2006. Community based innovation: How to integrate members of virtual communities into new product development, Electronic Commerce Research , 6 (1), pp. 57-73.

Lüthje, C.; Herstatt, C. 2004. The Lead User method: an outline of empirical findings and issues for future research, R&D Management, 34 (5), pp. 553–568.

Muniz, A. M.; O’Guinn, T., 2001. Brand Community, Journal of Consumer Research, 27 (March), pp. 412-432.

Thøgersen, J., 2004. A cognitive dissonance interpretation of consistencies and inconsistencies in environmentally responsible behavior, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24 (1), pp. 93-103.

von Hippel, E., 1986. Lead Users - A Source of novel product concepts, Management Science, 32, pp. 791-805.