research@hec - Issue #29 - (Page 7)

research hec a pplications in the workplace Companies that do not already rely on inputs from consumers must become more sensitive to demand. While focus groups may long have been considered a good practice, rather than bringing consumers together to talk in a secure room, perhaps it is time to let the voice of consumers emerge on its own, and listen to it in its own environment. As an illustrative example, Giada Di Stefano mentions the practice of reading blogs written by people who are in effect the end users, or who actively discuss issues in the sector. “There are cases in which managers could also ask themselves if such users would be willing to develop products with their firms,” adds the researcher. marketing skills involved in successfully developing new products. A cluster of more recent papers, including one pivotal 1994 contribution by Eric von Hippel at MIT (the author who coined the term “consumer active paradigm”), highlighted the role of users as generators of innovation. In practical terms, it could mean consumers improving on a good, and eventually becoming entrepreneurs, or developers contributing to open-source software. The fourth set of articles covered the overall system in which companies are embedded: their environment comprises competitors (or potential allies) as well as university laboratories, all of which may spark new ideas. The final and smallest cluster of articles dealt with issues of technology diffusion and adoption. DEMAND AS A RENEWED DRIVER OF INNOVATION This work by Giada Di Stefano and her co-authors highlighted how much economic science still heavily focused on internal factors needed to make a better use of technology. But it also shed light on a growing body of work focusing on demand as a source of innovation in its own right – and therefore on its increasing relevance for companies. “A typical example is extreme sports equipment,” says Giada Di Stefano. “There are studies describing how kitesurfers, for instance, will start modifying their kites to improve their performance. It’s mostly do-it-yourself in your garage up to a point, then some go on to manufacturing equipment themselves...or to partnering with companies that have the manufacturing or marketing capabilities to produce modified kites in a more efficient manner.” Indeed, specific competences are needed to successfully leverage both internal and external sources of innovation. Giada Di Stefano also points to resources and competences as sources of innovation themselves, but again, these competences are more and more demand-oriented. For instance, if a cosmetics company comes up with a new active ingredient with anti-wrinkle properties, they need to decide what to do with it. Should it be embodied in cream, serum, or mask? Under which brand should it be marketed? Should it be sold in mass retailers or in drugstores? All these questions are important to bring an innovation to market, and this requires demand-oriented competences. Giada Di Stefano says that many signals come from the economic and cultural environment, and companies need to understand them in order to figure out potential directions in which the market may go. “For example consumers may be more demanding of natural, organic products, and companies should try to channel their innovation efforts to match these changing tastes,” she adds. It’s almost as if companies “imported” knowledge from the market. n Based on an interview with Giada Di Stefano and her article “Technology Push and Demand Pull Perspectives in Innovation Studies: Current Findings and Future Research Directions” co-authored with Alfonso Gambardella and Gianmario Verona (Research Policy Vol. 41 Issue 8, 2012). M ethodology Giada Di Stefano, Alfonso Gambardella and Gianmario Verona compiled a list of 1,555 articles published from 1976 to 2010 on the subject of innovation, technology and demand, from the ISI Web of Science database, and selected the 100 most cited and influential ones. Then they mapped the structure of the research field using statistical analysis: examining co-citation to determine similarities in themes and approaches, they grouped the papers into clusters of related articles, each cluster dealing with one specific perspective on innovation. Then they analyzed the underlying network structure linking contributions to one another. october-november 2012 • 7

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of research@hec - Issue #29

Cover & Contents
The Brand France, a source of great appeal
Managerial incentives: Life-cycles and the influence of learning processes
Searching for new sources of innovation: The role of consumers

research@hec - Issue #29