The User Innovation Paradigm: Impacts on Markets and Welfare

Alfonso Gambardella, Christina Raasch, Eric von Hippel · 2016 · Management Science

Summary. Individual users and consumers drive significant innovation alongside traditional producer-led research. This paper models markets where both users and firms innovate, showing that firms often delay adopting user-innovation strategies too long despite social welfare gains. When firms support and harvest user innovations, markets achieve better outcomes through complementary investments. Policy intervention may be needed to align private incentives with social welfare in mixed user-producer innovation economies.

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Gambardella, A., Raasch, C., & Hippel, E. V.. (2016). The User Innovation Paradigm: Impacts on Markets and Welfare. Management Science. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2015.2393

@article{gambardella-2016-user-innovation-paradigm-impacts-markets,
  title   = {The User Innovation Paradigm: Impacts on Markets and Welfare},
  author  = {Alfonso Gambardella and Christina Raasch and Eric von Hippel},
  journal = {Management Science},
  year    = {2016},
  doi     = {10.1287/mnsc.2015.2393},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2015.2393}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - The User Innovation Paradigm: Impacts on Markets and Welfare
AU  - Alfonso Gambardella
AU  - Christina Raasch
AU  - Eric von Hippel
JO  - Management Science
PY  - 2016
DO  - 10.1287/mnsc.2015.2393
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Details

DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2015.2393
Countries: Italy, Germany, United States
Regions: Europe, North America
Categories: innovation-theory, entrepreneurship, general-innovation
Added: 2026-04-28