What drives lead users to become users entrepreneurs ? an exploratory study of motivations

Regardless the type of industry, it has been shown that users, and more specifically lead users, are among the prime developers of truly novel solutions. Most stop before market launch of their innovation, but others go further and start their own firms. While an encouraging body of literature has proven the crucial role and the commercial interest of integrating lead users in the innovation process, little research has been done concerning motivations that drive these individuals to become firm-founders. In this article, we identify the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations that drive some lead users to switch from an innovator role to an entrepreneur role.