Thriving with innovation: Maximizing knowledge acquisition from customers

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to advance the understanding of how choices regarding the combination of type of customer and knowledge acquisition technique influences the characteristics of the knowledge that can be acquired, in the early phase of the innovation process. Method – Data was collected through a single case study, varying the type of customer (lead users and non-lead users) and knowledge acquisition technique (survey, interviews and focus groups) in order to create six different combinations. The data was coded using content analysis, after which the codes were quantified by expert scoring on three different characteristics of knowledge (novelty, relevance and feasibility). Calculations were made, highlighting differences between the combinations, verified by t-Tests. Findings – The findings show that data collected through interviews and focus groups among lead users score significantly higher on all characteristics of knowledge than all non-lead user interactions. Comparing surveys, knowledge from lead users only score significantly higher on relevance and feasibility. Within the two customer types for all knowledge characteristics, varying only the type of customer, interviews and focus groups score significantly higher than surveys. Theoretical implications – This study contributes to the literature by deepening the understanding within the fields of knowledge acquisition and customer involvement. Our findings challenge the unilateral view of customer involvement versus no customer involvement (Christensen and Bower, 1996; Ulwick 2002; Gemser and Perks, 2015) by providing a more nuanced picture, taking the process itself into consideration. Practical implications – This study highlight important factors for effective knowledge acquisition from customers, stating that companies should (1) categorize the customers, and (2) conduct focus groups and interviews with customers categorized as lead users, independent whether incremental or radical innovation is desired