Customization and innovation - User innovation toolkits for simulator software

It is found that the possibility to develop one’s own modules is widely used, and highly valued, and all three types of benefits found to materialize in the case of simulator software.

Abstract

User innovation toolkits combine features of mass customization and unrestricted user innovation. A manufacturer can reap three types of benefits from offering a user innovation toolkit. First, it allows to fulfill specific customer needs faster, at lower cost, or to a higher degree; second, the toolkit itself may be an attractive product feature; third, the resulting user innovations can be a valuable source of new product concepts. We study these issues for the case of simulator software. A webbased survey was conducted, yielding 2713 responses. We find that the possibility to develop one’s own modules is widely used, and highly valued. All three types of benefits are found to materialize. The paper concludes by deriving implications for management.