Democratizing Innovation

Innovation is rapidly becoming democratized. Users, aided by improvements in computer and communications technology, increasingly can develop their own new products and services. These innovating users ¿ both individuals and firms ¿ often freely share their innovations with others, creating user-innovation communities and a rich intellectual commons. In Democratizing Innovation, Eric von Hippel looks closely at this emerging system of user-centered innovation. He explains why and when users find it profitable to develop new products and services for themselves, and why it often pays users to reveal their innovations freely for the use of all.The trend toward democratized innovation can be seen in software and information products ¿ most notably in the free and open-source software movement ¿ but also in physical products. Von Hippel's many examples of user innovation in action range from surgical equipment to surfboards to software security features. He...