User - innovators and “ local ” information : The case of mountain biking

In a study of innovations developed by mountain bikers, we find that userinnovators almost always utilize “local” information – information already in their possession or generated by themselves both to determine the need for and to develop the solutions for their innovations. We argue that this finding fits the economic incentives operating on users. Local need information will in general be the most relevant to user-innovators, since the bulk of their innovation-related rewards typically come from in-house use. User-innovators will increasingly tend to rely on local solution information as the stickiness of non-local solution information rises. An interesting implication of this finding is the possibility of sometimes predicting the general nature of user innovations ex ante. Under conditions where users are likely to rely on local information to develop innovations, it may possible to learn about the general nature of users’ needs and available solution information prior to innovation development and so predict the general nature of the innovations they might develop. One could then assist and promote the innovation activities of some. * Research Assistant and Habilitation Student of Innovation Management and Marketing, Technical University of Hamburg, Institute of Technology and Innovation Management, [email protected] ** Professor of Technology and Innovation Management, Technical University of Hamburg, Institute of Technology and Innovation Management, [email protected]