ONLINE CHANNELS AND INNOVATION: ARE USERS BEING EMPOWERED AND INVOLVED?

Innovation literature points directly to the Internet and the various form of online channels that companies can implemented as part of user involvement and empowerment in innovation. Yet implementing open innovation requires that online channels lead to user involvement. Online channels can be used for different purposes and will not by themselves create open innovation. This paper therefore analyzes the capability of companies to implement open innovation through use of online channels. The results show that there is a fine line between user involvement and customer orientation. Online channels do not necessarily empower users in the innovation process. In addition, the paper find that on B2C markets pioneering users hold an unrealized innovative potential that could benefit the diffusion of open innovation in these markets.