An Exploration of User Innovation from Inside the Firms: Uncovering Internal Dynamics and Embedded Lead Userness

This thesis contributes to the UI research by suggesting that firms need to put more emphasize on the internal dynamics by defining and boosting their strategic, organizational, and managerial potentials. At the same time, it suggests that the human side of the collaboration which deals with individual, choices, abilities, and motivations needs more attention in particular concerning lead userness. Based on the three papers, this PhD thesis aims to enhance our understanding of different perspectives of user innovation by providing a categorization of both external-to-the-firm and internal-to-the-firm themes and tackling the embedded userness. The first paper aims to scrutinize the “locus” of UI meaning to distinguish between studies focusing on external-to-the-firm conditions of UI. By conducting a systematic literature review , this study explores the existing studies focusing on external-to-the-firm conditions of UI (user’s types, users’ roles, enabling platforms, etc.) and papers focusing on internal-to-the-firm conditions of UI, such as strategies, capabilities and organizational routines that trigger and support UI processes. While current studies tackle different angles of the UI mostly from an external-to-the-firm perspective, this study identifies two general streams of research from both perspectives from inside and outside of the firm and provides a complete categorization of different aspects and themes of each perspective. The second paper investigates internal dynamics of firm–users collaboration by bridging the literature on user innovation and the literature on open innovation. Based on a systematic literature review, this study provides a more detailed categorization of internal-to-the firm conditions. The findings of this study highlight the precise sub-streams of each internal dynamic group including strategic, organizational, and managerial dynamics. Finally, based on the findings of the second study associated with dearth of research on micro-foundations or in other words human side of UI, the third study examines the individual-level antecedents of embedded lead userness. More specifically, based on the data coming from collected from 554 employees belonging to 42 Italian and Croatian small and medium-sized companies, this study inspects the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and ELU when mediated by creative bootlegging. The findings show that employees who show self-motivation and conviction in entrepreneurial activities also tend to commit (enjoy carving out some time to be committed) to unofficial innovation projects which in turn make them become more curious and expert about the products and to act as lead users. Overall, the findings of the thesis are important to further advance the innovation management research and in particular UI research. Taken together, these findings shed more light on the various processes, roles, decisions as well as human and psychological arguments that underpin the use of UI in firms. The thesis concludes by summarizing the key theoretical and managerial contributions of the three papers and then the limitations and avenues for further research on UI is provided.

This thesis contributes to the UI research by suggesting that firms need to put more emphasize on the internal dynamics by defining and boosting their strategic, organizational, and managerial potentials. At the same time, it suggests that the human side of the collaboration which deals with individual, choices, abilities, and motivations needs more attention in particular concerning lead userness. Based on the three papers, this PhD thesis aims to enhance our understanding of different perspectives of user innovation by providing a categorization of both external-to-the-firm and internal-to-the-firm themes and tackling the embedded userness. The first paper aims to scrutinize the “locus” of UI meaning to distinguish between studies focusing on external-to-the-firm conditions of UI. By conducting a systematic literature review , this study explores the existing studies focusing on external-to-the-firm conditions of UI (user’s types, users’ roles, enabling platforms, etc.) and papers focusing on internal-to-the-firm conditions of UI, such as strategies, capabilities and organizational routines that trigger and support UI processes. While current studies tackle different angles of the UI mostly from an external-to-the-firm perspective, this study identifies two general streams of research from both perspectives from inside and outside of the firm and provides a complete categorization of different aspects and themes of each perspective. The second paper investigates internal dynamics of firm–users collaboration by bridging the literature on user innovation and the literature on open innovation. Based on a systematic literature review, this study provides a more detailed categorization of internal-to-the firm conditions. The findings of this study highlight the precise sub-streams of each internal dynamic group including strategic, organizational, and managerial dynamics. Finally, based on the findings of the second study associated with dearth of research on micro-foundations or in other words human side of UI, the third study examines the individual-level antecedents of embedded lead userness. More specifically, based on the data coming from collected from 554 employees belonging to 42 Italian and Croatian small and medium-sized companies, this study inspects the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and ELU when mediated by creative bootlegging. The findings show that employees who show self-motivation and conviction in entrepreneurial activities also tend to commit (enjoy carving out some time to be committed) to unofficial innovation projects which in turn make them become more curious and expert about the products and to act as lead users. Overall, the findings of the thesis are important to further advance the innovation management research and in particular UI research. Taken together, these findings shed more light on the various processes, roles, decisions as well as human and psychological arguments that underpin the use of UI in firms. The thesis concludes by summarizing the key theoretical and managerial contributions of the three papers and then the limitations and avenues for further research on UI is provided.