Generating innovation opportunities: how to explore and absorb customer knowledge

Abstract

This study examines how a company can generate innovation opportunities by exploring and absorbing customer knowledge. The exploration can be performed via an in-depth or broad search for resources beyond organisational boundaries. Salespeople are an essential channel for an in-depth search in relation to customers, since salespeople possess rich knowledge of the customers. In order to be useful, such knowledge has to be absorbed in the company. Most of the literature on absorptive capacity has focused on R&D, while less focus has been placed on studying the role of individuals in the development of integrative practices. This paper demonstrates how a community of practice can enable organisations to move from potential absorptive capacity to realised absorptive capacity.

Boosting Creativity with Transformational Leadership in Fuzzy Front-end Innovation Processes

“…When the salespeople returned after a visit to a customer, they might inform their manager about important observations, but this was not done in any systematic way and potentially relevant information got lost. (See more about the action research process and Innovation Catcher: Kallio & Bergenholtz, 2011;Kallio & Konsti-Laakso, 2011). …”

Gamification as an Intervention Method in Practice-Based Innovation

“…A case study approach is furthermore in line with the views of Lane et al [2006], who propose it for research that has individuals and interactions as the unit of analysis [Kallio and Bergenholtz (2011)], as was the case in this research.…”

How individuals perform customer knowledge absorption practices - a contextual approach to open innovation

“…The combination of both techniques enabled us to double-check our results and gather a full spectrum of relevant context factors. We interviewed ten salespeople of the subsidiary and two representatives from the R&D department to receive multiple perspectives on CKA practices (Kallio and Bergenholtz, 2011). The average duration of the interviews was approximately 60 minutes.…”

“…Third, individuals that participate in OI practices contribute their skills, knowledge and motivation (Herskovits et al, 2013). Hence, skills might also enable OI practices and shape how those practices are enacted (Du Chatenier et al, 2010;Durst and Ståhle, 2013;Gassmann et al, 2006;Huizingh, 2011;Kallio andBergenholtz, 2011). Du Chatenier et al (2010), for example, argue that individuals in open innovation teams are of critical importance for open innovation success and identify skills those individuals require to perform in those teams.…”