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Identifying valuable users as informants for innovation processes: Comparing the search efficiency of pyramiding and screening

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  • Stockstrom, Christoph S.
  • Goduscheit, René Chester
  • Lüthje, Christian
  • Jørgensen, Jacob Høj

Abstract

Users represent an often untapped source of knowledge which companies can capitalize on during different stages of the innovation process. However, identifying helpful users for innovation projects is far from trivial as these individuals are often hidden within considerably larger populations. We contribute to open and user innovation research by empirically investigating the efficiency of pyramiding and screening, two methods used to identify valuable users. Analyzing a sample of 942 children in 42 school classes, we show that pyramiding, a search process based on personal references from user to user, is significantly more efficient in identifying rare individuals than screening, even though many references are not based on close personal relations. Pyramiding's relative efficiency advantage increases with the size of the population being searched. Finally, we explore how searchers can further increase pyramiding search efficiency by using information to select promising starting points or prematurely abandoning unpromising search chains.

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  • Stockstrom, Christoph S. & Goduscheit, René Chester & Lüthje, Christian & Jørgensen, Jacob Høj, 2016. "Identifying valuable users as informants for innovation processes: Comparing the search efficiency of pyramiding and screening," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 507-516.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:45:y:2016:i:2:p:507-516
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2015.11.002
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    Cited by:

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    2. Schweisfurth, Tim G., 2017. "Comparing internal and external lead users as sources of innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 238-248.
    3. Enrique Acebo & José‐Ángel Miguel‐Dávila & Mariano Nieto, 2021. "External stakeholder engagement: Complementary and substitutive effects on firms' eco‐innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 2671-2687, July.
    4. Heuschneider, Sara & Herstatt, Cornelius, 2016. "External search for exploration of future discontinuities and trends: Implications from the literature using co-citation and content analysis," Working Papers 92, Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Institute for Technology and Innovation Management.
    5. Urbinati, Andrea & Bogers, Marcel & Chiesa, Vittorio & Frattini, Federico, 2019. "Creating and capturing value from Big Data: A multiple-case study analysis of provider companies," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 84, pages 21-36.
    6. Brennecke, Julia & Sofka, Wolfgang & Wang, Peng & Rank, Olaf N., 2021. "How the organizational design of R&D units affects individual search intensity – A network study," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(5).

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