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User innovation and the market

Author

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  • Gault, Fred

    (UNU-MERIT, and TUT-IERI Pretoria)

Abstract

This paper proposes a way of including in official statistics consumers as user innovators who modify or develop products for their own use. The issue addressed is the role of the market in the definition of innovation in the OECD/Eurostat Oslo Manual and the exclusion by the definition of consumers who modify or develop products and then freely reveal the knowledge gained to others. A modest proposal is made for a change to the definition which also has implications for the measurement of innovation in the public sector. The policy implications of user innovation by consumers and by firms are considered along with the importance of including consumer user innovation in official statistics. The paper ends with a programme for future work.

Suggested Citation

  • Gault, Fred, 2011. "User innovation and the market," MERIT Working Papers 2011-009, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    • Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2011009
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    Cited by:

    1. Gault, F., 2014. "Where are innovation indicators, and their applications, going?," MERIT Working Papers 2014-055, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    2. Djellal, Faridah & Gallouj, Faïz & Miles, Ian, 2013. "Two decades of research on innovation in services: Which place for public services?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 98-117.
    3. J.P.J. de Jong, 2016. "The importance of measuring household sector innovation," Working Papers 16-02, Utrecht School of Economics.
    4. Fred Gault, 2019. "User Innovation in the Digital Economy," Foresight and STI Governance (Foresight-Russia till No. 3/2015), National Research University Higher School of Economics, vol. 13(3), pages 6-12.
    5. Gaut, Fred, 2015. "Measuring innovation in all sectors of the economy," MERIT Working Papers 2015-038, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    6. Iizuka, Michiko, 2013. "Innovation systems framework: still useful in the new global context?," MERIT Working Papers 2013-005, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    7. Fursov, Konstantin & Thurner, Thomas & Nefedova, Alena, 2017. "What user-innovators do that others don't: A study of daily practices," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 153-160.
    8. Bengtsson, Lars & Edquist, Charles, 2020. "Towards a holistic user innovation policy," Papers in Innovation Studies 2020/11, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    9. Cuntz, Alexander & Czernich, Nina & Dauchert, Helge & Meurer, Petra & Philipps, Annika, 2015. "Gesellschaftliche Dimensionen von Innovation: Zentrale Fragen und Datenlage," Studien zum deutschen Innovationssystem 18-2015, Expertenkommission Forschung und Innovation (EFI) - Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation, Berlin.
    10. Bradonjic, Philip & Franke, Nikolaus & Lüthje, Christian, 2019. "Decision-makers’ underestimation of user innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(6), pages 1354-1361.
    11. Fred Gault (ed.), 2013. "Handbook of Innovation Indicators and Measurement," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14427.
    12. Fred Gault, 2013. "Innovation indicators and measurement: challenges," Chapters, in: Fred Gault (ed.), Handbook of Innovation Indicators and Measurement, chapter 19, pages 441-464, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Laima Gerlitz, 2016. "Design management as a domain of smart and sustainable enterprise: business modelling for innovation and smart growth in Industry 4.0," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 3(3), pages 244-268, March.
    14. Hienerth, Christoph & von Hippel, Eric & Berg Jensen, Morten, 2014. "User community vs. producer innovation development efficiency: A first empirical study," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 190-201.
    15. John R Bryson & Chloe Billing & Mark Tewdwr-Jones, 2023. "Urban infrastructure patching: Citizen-led solutions to infrastructure ruptures," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 60(10), pages 1932-1948, August.
    16. Fred Gault, 2013. "The Oslo Manual," Chapters, in: Fred Gault (ed.), Handbook of Innovation Indicators and Measurement, chapter 2, pages 41-59, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. Bloch, Carter & Bugge, Markus M., 2013. "Public sector innovation—From theory to measurement," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 133-145.
    18. Fred Gault, 2013. "Innovation indicators and measurement: an overview," Chapters, in: Fred Gault (ed.), Handbook of Innovation Indicators and Measurement, chapter 1, pages 3-38, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    19. Gault, Fred, 2018. "Defining and measuring innovation in all sectors of the economy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 617-622.
    20. Gault, F. & Kuusisto, J. & Niemi, M., 2014. "User innovators and their influence on innovation activities of firms in Finland," MERIT Working Papers 2014-003, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    21. Turkeli, S. & Wintjes, R., 2014. "Towards the societal system of innovation: The case of metropolitan areas in Europe," MERIT Working Papers 2014-040, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    22. Jeroen P.J. de Jong & Eric von Hippel, 2013. "User innovation: business and consumers," Chapters, in: Fred Gault (ed.), Handbook of Innovation Indicators and Measurement, chapter 5, pages 109-132, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    23. Patrick Planing, 2017. "On the origin of innovations—the opportunity vacuum as a conceptual model for the explanation of innovation," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-18, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    User innovation; consumer innovation; public sector innovation; official statistics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • H00 - Public Economics - - General - - - General
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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