Innovation Heroes : Understanding Customers as a Valuable Innovation Resource

This book provides the knowledge necessary for succeeding in a world where companies increasingly work side-by-side with customers to create new products and services. It is a pivotal navigation tool that helps cruise the ocean of customer integration methods and explains how the methods work, when to choose which, and how to seize advantages while avoiding pitfalls.This title is an essential read for research and development managers, marketing professionals, and other practitioners who are involved in new product development to apply customer integration methods effectively and efficiently to drive new product development success. While the application of methods is no guarantee of success, knowledge of the correct selection and appropriate application increases the probability of new product and service development success. Rich in theoretical frameworks, research findings, and practical information about customer integration methods, Innovation Heroes will help the reader appreciate the value of customers as an innovation resource and ways to profit from them.

Preface	p. v
About the Authors	p. vii
Chapter 1 Customers at the center stage	p. 1
1.1 Introduction	p. 1
1.2 Opening and closing the solution space	p. 3
1.3 Customer integration along the different NPD phases	p. 7
1.4 Customer integration for service innovation	p. 13
1.5 Types of customers	p. 23
1.6 The strategic cornerstones of customer integration	p. 26
1.6.1 Customer orientation	p. 26
1.6.2 Manufacturer active paradigm (MAP) and customer active paradigm (CAP)	p. 29
1.6.3 The four basic strategic approaches of customer integration	p. 35
Chapter 2 Direct approaches to open the solution space: Users as creativity machines	p. 43
2.1 Customers and creativity	p. 43
2.2 Direct online tools for opening the solution space	p. 56
2.2.1 Goals and scope of direct online tools	p. 61
2.2.2 Online idea competitions	p. 68
2.2.3 Virtual communities for idea suggestion and cocreation	p. 72
2.3 Direct offline tools for opening the solution space	p. 78
2.3.1 Creativity workshops with ordinary users	p. 78
2.3.2 Lead user workshops	p. 89
Chapter 3 Indirect approaches to open the solution space: Methods to identify latent needs	p. 99
3.1 The relevance of latent needs	p. 99
3.2 Ethnography	p. 103
3.3 Empathic design	p. 107
3.4 Netnography	p. 109
3.5 Focus group workshops	p. 112
3.6 Service blueprinting and customer journey workshops	p. 117
3.7 Laddering technique	p. 122
3.8 Critical incident technique	p. 128
3.9 Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique (ZMET)	p. 131
3.10 Repertory grid	p. 133
Chapter 4 Approaches to close the solution space: Customers as evaluators	p. 141
4.1 Preference tests and test errors	p. 141
4.2 Qualitative and quantitative preference tests	p. 145
4.3 Respondent selection	p. 151
4.4 Typical question set	p. 156
4.5 Concept tests	p. 160
4.6 Product tests	p. 164
4.7 Conjoint tests	p. 171
4.8 Store and market tests	p. 182
4.9 Go/no go decisions and market demand forecasts based on test results	p. 185
Chapter 5 Integrated approaches to open and close the solution space: Multiple customer interaction	p. 191
5.1 Design thinking	p. 191
5.2 Outcome-driven innovation (ODI)	p. 200
5.3 Quality function deployment (QFD)	p. 204
5.4 Market scrums	p. 212
5.5 R&D alliances and NPD networks with customers	p. 221
5.5.1 Contract	p. 221
5.5.2 Joint ventures and strategic alliances	p. 226
5.5.3 Innovation networks	p. 229
Chapter 6 Development of organizational customer integration capabilities and implementation of customer integration in NPD and NSD	p. 239
6.1 Three process-related customer integration competencies and the customer orientation mindset	p. 239
6.2 Customer information acquisition capabilities	p. 243
6.3 Customer information dissemination capabilities	p. 245
6.4 Customer information utilization capabilities	p. 249
6.5 The way ahead	p. 253
References	p. 257
Index	p. 287

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