Social Media Use for Open Innovation Initiatives : Proposing the Semantic Learning-Based Innovation Framework (SLBIF)

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) typically face resource and capability constraints that inhibit their innovation activities. One way SMEs can overcome these constraints is by complementing internal resources and capabilities with external knowledge, referred to as open innovation. With the proliferation of the Internet, SMEs have added social media to their traditional marketing activities. However, they rarely embrace the analytical capabilities of social media for innovation. Hence, we propose the semantic learning-based innovation framework (SLBIF) to guide SMEs in using the analytical capabilities of social media to innovate their products or services. Our framework includes three consecutive stages innovators should follow — idea selection, idea refinement, and idea diffusion — and which explain how to analyze customer preferences through semantic analysis of customer posts and identify lead users and opinion leaders using user-directed social network analysis