Call for Chapters Living Labs – Innovating by Co-‐Creating with Users in Real-‐Life Environments Editors
Prof., Dr. Esteve Almirall, ESADE, Spain Adjunct Prof., Dr.(Econ.) Seppo Leminen Laurea University of Applied Sciences and Aalto University School of Business Prof., Dr. (Econ.) Mika Westerlund, Carleton University, Canada
Motivation
Innovation is actually more than ever related to finding novel solutions in complex and interrelated settings where business models, the emerge of new meanings and adoption by a diversity of constituencies play a major role. It is in this context where the involving and co-‐creating with all the interested parties in real-‐life environments becomes very relevant. Living Labs are physical or virtual realities where stakeholders form public-‐private-‐people partnerships (4Ps) of firms, public agencies, universities, institutes, and users. All are collaborating for creating, prototyping, validating, and testing new technologies, services, products, and systems in real-‐life contexts. Two main differences separate Living Labs from other forms of User Contributed innovation. First, the insistence on real-‐life environments allowing new meanings, behaviors and problems to emerge. Secondly, in living labs the users are the ones that shape the innovation in their own real-‐life environments, whereas in traditional innovation networks the insights of users are captured and interpreted by experts. Similar to other forms of open innovation, living labs are dynamic, but they are more formally structured and less boundless than other open innovation networks. However, there is little research on living labs as such. This edited volume brings together both academics and managers from fields of innovation and other fields applying living labs, living laboratories, and living labbing to explore the benefits and challenges living labs provide for variety of stakeholders. State-‐of-‐the-‐art research from different perspectives together with a sample of best living labs practices around the world will suit the needs of professionals and researchers alike.