Patrick Pollok

Leading Edge Users and Latent Consumer Needs in Electromobility: Findings from a Nethnographic Study of User Innovation in High-Tech Online Communities

Netnography i.e. the systematic observation and analysis of online communities to generate insights for an innovation process, has been established as a method of user innovation in consumer goods industries. In this study we apply this technique for the first time in the context of a complex, business-to-business high-tech industry, namely services and systems for electric vehicles, by analyzing 15 online communities in this domain. We find that Netnography can largely enhance the knowledge stock of a research organization in the area in question, and provides access to key individuals with lead user characteristics. We extensively comment on the process of applying Netnography in such a setting and derive implications for further research and management practice.

Sharing the Pie in Open Innovation: Value capture in crowdsourcing from the solver perspective

A blind spot in the open innovation literature is the value capture process. This study examines value capture in an open innovation ecosystem dedicated to crowdsourcing technical needs from the perspective of solution providers (so called solvers). Through the lens of two-sided market theory and uncertainty reduction theory, we analyze how solvers are able to capture value from crowdsourcing and their barriers to equitable appropriation. Using a multimethod approach including a large scale study of more than 500 domain experts involved in crowdsourcing for technology needs, we highlight the solvers’ dissatisfaction and the need to develop relationship value. Our study shows that the predominant economic view of value should be complemented by social aspects and relational aspects of value such as trust and communication.

Entrepreneurial pricing: characteristics and implications of pricing in SMEs and start-ups

Pricing is a classical marketing instrument. While it affects companies of all sizes and categories, scientific research often sees pricing as focused on large enterprises, particularly the consumer products industry. In the limited amount of articles on SMEs and/or start-ups, new developments in pricing and/or marketing often receive no attention. The following paper aims to address this: using the most current findings from marketing research, its goal is to show which characteristics result for pricing in SMEs and start-ups, and which implications for management can be derived from them.