In his book, von Hippel explains: “The user-centered innovation process just illustrated is in sharp contrast to the traditional model, in which products and services are developed by manufacturers in a closed way, the manufacturers using patents, copyrights, and other protections to prevent imitators from free riding on their innovation investments. In this traditional model, a user’s only role is to have needs, which manufacturers then identify and fill by designing and producing new products. The manufacturercentric model does fit some fields and conditions. However, a growing body of empirical work shows that users are the first to develop many and perhaps most new industrial and consumer products. Further, the contribution of users is growing
Interview With Eric Von Hippel OB: What do you mean by Democratizing Innovation? Eric von Hippel: I mean that users of products and services — both firms and individual consumers — are increasingly able to innovate for themselves. It gives more power to users and these user-centered innovation processes offer great advantages over the manufacturercentric innovation development systems. Those have been the norm for hundreds of years. Now innovation can happen in a much more decentralized way from the bottom up. OB: This sounds great for consumers and small time entrepreneurs, but what makes it possible? Eric von Hippel: Sophisticated design tools are far more widespread, less costly and easier to use. By and large the vast improvements in computation has been the driving force. And most importantly the increasing communication between users, because of the internet, has made it much easier to share knowledge and drive innovation. OB: Do you think Intellectual Property laws as they are block innovation? Eric von Hippel: Certainly. Property owners will try to control the process and block everything that threatens their business models. But free materials will increasingly become an effective competitor for non-free materials and content. OB: How does this change businesses and business models? Eric von Hippel: Well, users have a natural advantage in the innovation process. They know what they need and can distribute their ideas much more effectively than large corporations. You know there is a general rule – markets start small – therefore corporations tend not innovate at the cutting edge of social and commercial demands. Manufacturers tend to concentrate on markets they like and understand. And they had no real access to users and their demands. Innovations therefore were quite often not need-oriented. Now users can connect, debate their needs and create solutions in a much more seamless way. Businesses in this environment need to be far more connected to their users and integrate them directly in the innovation process. Source: Open Business (http://www.openbusiness.cc/2006/01/20/democratizing-innovation-aconversation-between-openbusiness-and-eric-von-hippel-2/)
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