Massachusetts Institute of Technology


DEMOCRATIZING INNOVATION
Eric von Hippel, MIT Sloan School of Management
Monday October 16, 2006 4:00-5:30 pm
NE20-336 Conference Room (3 Cambridge Center)

An Audio Recording of this talk is now available (Requires Real Player 8.0+)

Abstract
Innovation is rapidly becoming democratized. Users, aided by improvements in computer and communications technology, increasingly can develop their own new products and services. These innovating users--both individuals and firms--often freely share their innovations with others, creating user-innovation communities and a rich intellectual commons.

The trend toward democratized innovation can be seen in software and information products--most notably in the free and open-source software movement--but also in physical products. Examples of user innovation in action range from surgical equipment to surfboards to software security features, where product and service development is concentrated among "lead users," who are ahead on marketplace trends and whose innovations are often commercially attractive.

The talk will focus on this emerging system of user-centered innovation--why and when users find it profitable to develop new products and services for themselves, and why it often pays users to reveal their innovations freely for the use of all.

Speaker bio
Eric von Hippel is Professor of Management of Innovation and Head of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group at the MIT Sloan School of Management.


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