When customers get clever: managerial approaches to dealing with creative consumers
Pierre R. Berthon, LEYLAND F. PITT, Ian P. McCarthy, Steven Kates · IRIS - Institutional Research Information System (Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli) · 2007
Creative consumers (defined as customers who adapt, modify, or transform a proprietary offering) represent an intriguing paradox for business. On one hand, they can signify a black hole for future revenue, with breach of copyright and intellectual property. On the other hand, they represent a gold mine of ideas and business opportunities. Central to business is the need to create and capture value, and creative consumers demand a shift in the mindsets and business models of how firms accomplish both. Based upon their attitude and action toward customer innovation, we develop a typology of firms' stances toward creative consumers. We then consider the implications of the stances model for corporate strategy and examine a three-step approach to dealing with creative consumers: awareness, analysis, and response. © 2006 Kelley School of Business, Indiana University.