User innovation in techniques

Techniques, i. e. systematic activities to accomplish a complex task, play an important role in innovation as they often are a prerequisite for the development of new products or increase the benefit drawn from already existing products. Users are a primary source of new techniques. Even though user-generated techniques are a pervasive phenomenon which can be observed in many different contexts, existing research on user innovation has focused on product and service innovations, the phenomenon of user-generated techniques has only been studied to a much lesser extent. This book introduces to studies in the field of medical devices, a multiple case study analysis and a survey study involving 196 surgeons. It analyzes the processes by which users generate and diffuse new techniques as well as the interdependencies between user-generated techniques and subsequent changes to product use and product innovation. It further focuses on the adoption and diffusion of new surgical techniques. The findings suggest that user innovation in techniques triggers product innovation by users and manufacturers. Therefore, users' contributions to total innovation output are much higher than previously considered. Additionally, the diffusion of techniques differs significantly from the diffusion of new products. It can only be achieved with the involvement of diffusion agents and their interpersonal interaction and joint performance of the technique with possible adopters. As the diffusion of a technique is often a prerequisite for the diffusion of any related product, companies are forced to re-think their marketing strategies.