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The Sources of Innovation
It has long been assumed that new product innovations are typically developed by product manufacturers, an assumption that has inevitably had a major impact on innovation-related research and activities ranging from how firms organize their research and development to how governments measure
innovation. In this synthesis of his seminal research, von Hippel challenges that basic assumption and demonstrates that innovation occurs in different places in different industries. Presenting a series of studies showing that end-users, material suppliers, and others are the typical sources of
innovation in some fields, von Hippel explores why this variation in the "functional" sources of innovation occurs and how it might be predicted. He also proposes and tests some implications of replacing a manufacturer-as-innovator assumption with a view of the innovation process as predictably
distributed across users, manufacturers, and suppliers. Innovation, he argues, will take place where there is greatest economic benefit to the innovator.
innovation. In this synthesis of his seminal research, von Hippel challenges that basic assumption and demonstrates that innovation occurs in different places in different industries. Presenting a series of studies showing that end-users, material suppliers, and others are the typical sources of
innovation in some fields, von Hippel explores why this variation in the "functional" sources of innovation occurs and how it might be predicted. He also proposes and tests some implications of replacing a manufacturer-as-innovator assumption with a view of the innovation process as predictably
distributed across users, manufacturers, and suppliers. Innovation, he argues, will take place where there is greatest economic benefit to the innovator.
232 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
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August 14, 2008Free Ebook at http://web.mit.edu/evhippel/www/sourc...
October 23, 2010
Bleah. Boring. Uninspiring. Nothing at all like his other book, Democratizing Innovation.
Quotes:
"It appears to me that innovating users of pultrusion process equipment are better able than innovating manufacturers to establish temporary monopoly control over their innovations. The key source of this difference is the ability of equipment users to hide their innovations for a period of time as trade secrets. This option is not open to manufacturer, who must display their innovations to customers in order to sell them."
"In effect, therefore, both users and manufacturers in this industry are both in a position to control the rights to an innovative engineering plastic that they may develop. But only a manufacturer (or a user who becomes a manufacturer) is in a position to exploit the significant economies of scale associated with engineering plastics manufacture. Given that this is so, a manufacturer that innovates is the only functional type of firm that does not have to incur the cost and risk of licensing this type of innovation to a manufacturer. The consequent saving in licensing-related cost and risk results in a higher expectation of net innovation-related rent for an innovating manufacturer than that which an innovating user might expect."
Quotes:
"It appears to me that innovating users of pultrusion process equipment are better able than innovating manufacturers to establish temporary monopoly control over their innovations. The key source of this difference is the ability of equipment users to hide their innovations for a period of time as trade secrets. This option is not open to manufacturer, who must display their innovations to customers in order to sell them."
"In effect, therefore, both users and manufacturers in this industry are both in a position to control the rights to an innovative engineering plastic that they may develop. But only a manufacturer (or a user who becomes a manufacturer) is in a position to exploit the significant economies of scale associated with engineering plastics manufacture. Given that this is so, a manufacturer that innovates is the only functional type of firm that does not have to incur the cost and risk of licensing this type of innovation to a manufacturer. The consequent saving in licensing-related cost and risk results in a higher expectation of net innovation-related rent for an innovating manufacturer than that which an innovating user might expect."
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May 15, 2013
The book covers many concepts that are starting to float around open innovation. Von Hippel discusses different sources of innovation and provides an economic explanation for it. Many of the concepts that he develops in this future work can be seen in a beginning stage in this book.
The most exiting chapter are based on his discussion on informal trading of know-how and how to shift the functional source of innovation. Both can be interpreted as the initial stage of what later become free revealing in the open source community and the implementation of toolkits for user innovation.
The book covers many concepts that are important in the field of user innovation and in a sense to open innovation. It is easy to read and an important reference for people involved in the innovation field, regardless if you are a practitioner or a researcher.
The most exiting chapter are based on his discussion on informal trading of know-how and how to shift the functional source of innovation. Both can be interpreted as the initial stage of what later become free revealing in the open source community and the implementation of toolkits for user innovation.
The book covers many concepts that are important in the field of user innovation and in a sense to open innovation. It is easy to read and an important reference for people involved in the innovation field, regardless if you are a practitioner or a researcher.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews