Low-Income Consumers as a Source of Innovation

Insights from Idea Competitions in Brazilian Low-Income Communities

verfasst von: Aline Krämer

Verlag: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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The dissertation shows why innovations are vital to succeed in the low-income market segment, i.e. the four billion people living on less than 8 USD per day. In particular, it explores the role low-income consumers can play in corporate innovation processes. The study tests and expands theoretical findings on user innovations and lead users in the Brazilian low-income context. The findings also aim to enhance the capacity of companies to develop new solutions for the so far untapped low-income market by leveraging the knowledge of their target group.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

1. Introduction

Abstract

Can low-income consumers make a contribution to corporate innovation processes? Since the groundbreaking work of von Hippel, researchers have affirmed that consumers in middle- to high-income markets can indeed contribute to innovation. Von Hippel has identified users who develop new products and services on their own, in particular when current market offers do not meet their needs (see, e.g., von Hippel 1982/1986/1988). Following his research, scholars have empirically shown that integrating consumers can be a key success factor for innovation (see, e.g., Gruner and Homburg 2000). Moreover, studies have investigated how companies can identify and build on user innovations, and how they can leverage the knowledge of users by integrating them into new product development processes (see section 2.1).

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2. Insights from theory

Abstract

The present study builds on insights from two streams of research: innovation research – in particular open innovation and customer integration – and research on low-income or “base of the pyramid” (BoP) markets. Of these two areas, innovation research provides the main theoretical background of this study.

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3. Research design

Abstract

The present chapter describes the research design of the study. As illustrated in figure 15, a research design is composed of three key elements (Creswell 2009, 5): (1) the underlying research paradigms on what constitutes knowledge, (2) the research strategy chosen to test or build knowledge, and (3) the methods for data collection and analysis.

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4. Insights from the field: Case studies

Abstract

This chapter presents the data gathered through the three case studies. As recommended by Eisenhardt (1989, 539ff.), the case studies are presented and analyzed separately from each other (see “within-case analysis,” section 3.2.2). However, the presentation of each case study follows the same structure:

The first section of each case study presents the setting, introducing the topic of the competition, the target community, and the partners involved. The second section takes a close look at the level of creativity of the ideas gathered in each idea competition. The third section examines the participants who submitted the ideas – considering, first, their socioeconomic profile and, second, the extent to which they show lead-user characteristics. Furthermore, the third section aims to explore the characteristics of those participants with high creativity scores.

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5. Cross-case analysis and discussion

Abstract

According to Yin (2003, 133ff.), a pre-condition for cross-case analysis is that each case study is first treated as a separate study. The previous chapter analyzed the findings from the three case studies individually, in stand-alone sections. The purpose of this chapter is to make the link between these individual case studies, identifying patterns and discussing them.

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6. Summary and outlook

Abstract

When it comes to doing market research for new product development, companies have traditionally seen consumers as a source of information who “speak only when spoken to” (von Hippel 1978, 243). The company’s role is to capture their needs and preferences, and ultimately to develop appropriate solutions. Over the last decade, researchers and practitioners have realized that consumers can also be a source of innovation, helping discover solutions that meet their own needs.

Aline Krämer

Backmatter

Titel: Low-Income Consumers as a Source of Innovation
verfasst von: Aline Krämer
Verlag: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-658-08930-6
Print ISBN: 978-3-658-08929-0
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-08930-6