TY - JOUR

T1 - Dynamic boundaries of user communities

T2 - Exploiting synergies rather than managing dilemmas

AU - Lauritzen, Ghita Dragsdahl

AU - Salomo, Søren

AU - La Cour, Anders

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - A large body of literature indicates that innovation not only stems from a firm's internal investments but also relies on input from external sources. This is also reflected in an increasing interest in user innovation. In particular, users, who increasingly gather in communities, can offer valuable contributions. To create and capture value, firms must engage in some kind of collaboration with these user communities. However, at the interfaces between communities and firms, tensions arise because of undefined boundaries and a lack of clear roles. Current research within the user innovation literature characterises such tensions as dilemmas between competing demands that firms must balance to encourage and benefit from user contributions. This paper brings in a systems theory perspective to show that what is currently described as trade-offs that must be managed are in fact synergies that are mutually enabling and must be embraced to foster innovation. We develop a new boundary construct that explains how firms can attend to competing logics of power, identity, and competence simultaneously, thereby leveraging the innovation potential.

AB - A large body of literature indicates that innovation not only stems from a firm's internal investments but also relies on input from external sources. This is also reflected in an increasing interest in user innovation. In particular, users, who increasingly gather in communities, can offer valuable contributions. To create and capture value, firms must engage in some kind of collaboration with these user communities. However, at the interfaces between communities and firms, tensions arise because of undefined boundaries and a lack of clear roles. Current research within the user innovation literature characterises such tensions as dilemmas between competing demands that firms must balance to encourage and benefit from user contributions. This paper brings in a systems theory perspective to show that what is currently described as trade-offs that must be managed are in fact synergies that are mutually enabling and must be embraced to foster innovation. We develop a new boundary construct that explains how firms can attend to competing logics of power, identity, and competence simultaneously, thereby leveraging the innovation potential.

KW - Boundary management

KW - Communities

KW - Dilemma

KW - Firm-community collaboration

KW - Paradox

KW - Systems theory

KW - Tensions

KW - User innovation

U2 - 10.1504/IJTM.2013.056896

DO - 10.1504/IJTM.2013.056896

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:84885224108

VL - 63

SP - 148

EP - 168

JO - International Journal of Technology Management

JF - International Journal of Technology Management

SN - 0267-5730

IS - 3-4

ER -