Towards innovation in Living Labs networks

Abstract

This paper focuses on Living Labs that are open user-centred environments for networked innovation development. Although the concept of open innovation has quickly attracted both the scientific and applied communities, research on Living Labs is scarce, and literature lacks understanding of the characteristics of the Living Labs model. We aim to describe what the Living Labs are from the innovation network perspective.Using a case study of a regional Living Labs initiative, we describe the key participants and their roles in the Living Labs network. In addition, we discuss their motives to participate in the network, as well as the outcomes and perceived challenges of innovation co-creation. According to our findings, Living Labs are a practical way of encouraging open innovation. They are dedicated inter-organisational environments that provide pertinent support for Concurrent Engineering's (CE) networked processes. The integration of users as co-producers in product development is imperative for success in the Living Labs model because it reveals their latent needs and enables unforeseen outcomes.

Categorization of Innovation Tools in Living Labs

“…However, the present study suggests that such standardized activities seem to lead on incremental innovations in living labs thus reducing the enthusiasm of living lab activities among stakeholders. This finding is in line with prior studies that highlight the importance of passion in addition to the resources and knowledge in living lab activities Leminen, Westerlund, & Kortelainen, 2012).…”

Living Labs as boundary-spanners between Triple Helix actors

“…and on the mix of actors involved (Leminen et al, 2012;Nystrøm et al, 2014). A related distinction is that between people-oriented Living labs, in which the innovations serve individual people, like patients, the elderly, commuters, etc.…”

The City as Living Laboratory: Empowering Citizens with the Citadel Toolkit

“…Last, the role of the city can be described here as the "enabler" or "mediator" in the ecosystem, bringing everyone to work together effectively (Ratti & Townsend, 2011). Table 1 provides more information about the different actor roles in living labs (Leminen & Westerlund, 2012) and specifies the role for each stakeholder in urban living labs (Juujärvi & Pesso, 2013).…”

“…Table 1. Actor roles in urban living labs (Juujärvi & Pesso, 2013;Leminen & Westerlund, 2012) www.timreview.ca…”

“…According to the typology of Leminen and Westerlund (2012), we identify the following roles in the ecosystem: the city as enabler, the citizens as users, and the research organization as provider. The role of utilizers is not present within this ecosystem, because the scope of the initiative is more oriented towards generating public value.…”