Employees in the dual role of employee and end-user - a new source of innovation for companies?
Marianne Forman, Kim Haugbølle, Peter Vogelius, Kresten Storgaard · VBN Forskningsportal (Aalborg Universitet) · 2009
This study describes a process in which a company involves an employee as the end-user in the innovation activities of the company. While it has been recognised that end-users sometimes innovate and that user/producer relations are important for product development, little is known about employees in the dual role of end-user and employee. This paper argues that companies can benefit from using employees as end-users in their innovation activities. This research is based on a qualitative case study of a major manufacturer of building materials. The study draws on user-driven innovation theories and innovation theories in general. This case indicates that it has been an advantage to involve the employee as a user in the innovation activities of the company as this gives the company access first of all to a new context – the user’s context – which is detached from the traditional bindings of the company, and secondly to new knowledge that is based on the user’s generation of knowledge and lessons learnt in the use situation. The investigation shows that employees as end-users can contribute to companies’ innovation activities concerning the product, the organisation and the marketing. However, in order to benefit from this new type of collaboration, the company may consider how this process influences the practices of both the company and the employees, and attention must be paid to the dilemmas resulting from the process. 1.