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Procedia Engineering 182 ( 2017 ) 694 – 700
1877-7058 © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of EPPM2016
doi: 10.1016/j.proeng.2017.03.182
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7th International Conference on Engineering, Project, and Production Management
User-Driven Innovation – the Concept and Research Results
Elżbieta Szymańska*
Faculty of Management, Bialystok University of Technology, Wiejska 45A, 15-351 Bialystok, Poland
Abstract
The research problem discussed in the paper is the innovation process, called User-Driven Innovation (UDI). The aim of the study
is to determine whether the UDI system is more effective in introducing innovations than the linear one. The following hypothesis
was formulated: companies introducing UDI systems represent a higher level of innovativeness than companies introducing the
linear process. The following methods were used: a questionnaire, a standardized interview, and the ranking method. The
hypothesis has been verified. The research showed a relatively small role of the Management Board in relation to customers in the
innovation processes at the enterprises surveyed.
© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of EPPM2016.
Keywords: innovation; process of innovation; User Driven Innovation; service enterprises; medicine; tourism
1. Introduction
Innovation is a key factor of economic growth and the innovation processes become increasingly complex; starting
in the mid-1950s, when they were described in a linear manner, through conjugated processes, to the most recent ones:
open and diffuse innovation. One of the newest concepts, which were conceived in the 21st century, is the User-Driven
Innovation process (UDI). The UDI concept which began to take shape from 2005 onwards is based on the conviction
that consumers (users) have an increasing influence on the commercial offer available. Indeed, they take part in the
process of creating the products and services which they purchase. UDI can be defined as the process of drawing on
users’ knowledge to develop new products, services and concepts, which are based on a genuine understanding of
users’ needs and systematically engage users in the process of the development of an enterprise. The research problem
in this paper is the UDI innovation at enterprises. The aim of the study is to determine whether the UDI system is
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +4-885-746-9000.
E-mail address: e.szymanska@pb.edu.pl
© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of EPPM2016
695
Elżbieta Szymańska / Procedia Engineering 182 ( 2017 ) 694 – 700
more effective in introducing innovation than the linear one. It was formulated the following hypothesis: Companies
introducing UDI systems (processes) represent a higher level of innovativeness than companies introducing
innovations based on the linear process. Relevant research methods were applied to achieve this objective. The first
stage of the research was the identification of the innovation processes by an expert panel. Subsequently, the results
of qualitative research were verified by a quantitative survey carried out using the method of a standardised interview.
It should be noted that the UDI processes seem to have a huge potential for creating innovation, given the deepening
globalisation process and a rapid development of mass media. However, it should be emphasised that in this case
theory lags behind practice; hence, these processes have not been sufficiently explored yet. The results of the research
should contribute to enriching innovation theory and they can also be applied in economic practice as important
information (a prompt) for entrepreneurs.
2. Literature review
Innovation is perceived as the major driver of economic growth [27, 31]. The term “innovation” comes from Latin
and means the introduction of something new, a novelty, a reform – based on innovation, which means “renewal”, or
innovare, which means “to renew” [13]. Therefore, the innovation issues have been discussed in many publications.
The most important publications include those by J.A. Schumpeter, considered to be the father of innovation theory,
along with his outstanding work The Theory of Economic Growth [28]. P.F. Drucker [6] was another eminent
researcher on these issues. Many studies emerged as part of the innovation studies carried out by the OECD [20], the
Eurostat and the European Commission [8]. Contemporary economic studies, including primarily the Oslo Manuals
[20] indicate that innovation can be found not only in manufacturing enterprises but also in services. In accordance
with the OECD [20] nomenclature, innovation can be related to a product, process, organization or marketing.
However, there have been few studies on innovation in services [9, 11, 20, 22, 30]. Much attention in the literature
has been devoted to the innovation processes. Apart from those mentioned above, these issues were considered by
other eminent economists, such as P. K. Ahmed [1], R. Rorhwell [26], P. McGowan [16], S. J. Kline and N. Rosenberg
[12], G. Roehrich [24] and R. Cooper [10]. Table 1 shows different approaches to the innovation processes.
Table 1. Innovation processes.
No.
Processes Characteristics
1 Science pushed A linear model of the innovation process pushed by science
2 Pulled by the market A linear model of the innovation process pulled by the market
3 Conjugated Interaction models where the connections among the individual elements result from the
couplings between science, market and ent erprise
4 Integrated and networked Integrated systems based on networked connections – flexible, based on the system of
a response related to the consumer, continuous innovation
5 Information and communication
technology
A set of interrelated elements designed to process data using a computer technique. As
innovation systems evolve, the role of information and communication technologies grows
6 Self-learning processes (systems) Focus on the management of knowledge and learning assisted by a set of electronic tools
facilitating the current transfer of information and deci sion-making
7 Open innovation The concept is based on the conviction that companies may, and even should, seek ideas and
ways of creating innovations, not only within their structures, but also their environment –
among external partners (companies, organisations and customers)
8 User driven innovation (UDI) Demand-based approach to innovation-based on the conviction that consumers (users) have
an increasingly large influence on the available commercial offers, participating in the
process of creating products and services which they purchase
9 Diffuse innovation process Focus on open innovations inside and outside the organisation. Innovation is created (higher
value is generated) by establishing an efficient knowledge flow system (inside and outside)
The UDI process is one of the nine processes (also called systems) which can be distinguished in the literature
concerned with innovation theory [24]. Initially, the innovation processes were perceived as a simple consequence of
696 Elżbieta Szymańska / Procedia Engineering 182 ( 2017 ) 694 – 700
change (the market needs or the results of research) – items 1 and 2 in Table 1. They can be called linear ones.
However, S. J. Kline and N. Rosenberg [12] noticed that these processes could be more complex and developed the
model of a conjugated innovation process. Later studies were substantially more complex and all of them, starting
from the 1990s (item a 5 in Table 1), have involved advanced computer technologies. The concept of open innovation
[4, 5] began a new look at the innovation processes [3]. It enabled ideas to go outside of the organization and for the
latter to be open in the process of creating innovations – this turned out to be a factor which greatly stimulated
innovation [29]. The other idea is network innovative company [15]. The UDI concept was created on this basis.
Customers’ active participation, even consisting in the co-creation of innovations (new products and services), seems
to be the optimum option both for the customers who, in the course of the creation process, notify their needs and
ideas, and for entrepreneurs who seek to meet these needs, as this enhances their certainty of sales. In light of the
research conducted in Sweden UDI helps to develop proactive technology that meets the needs and demands of today's
senior citizens [21]. The researchers show that the concept of the co-creation by customers does not apply only to the
creation of innovations, but it can be used, for example, to improve the quality of services [32]. It should be noted that
the present change consists in the transition from technology-driven innovation to innovation which is driven by
customers and other entities outside of the enterprise. This development has continued until today, starting from the
first stage, covering the 1950s and the first half of the 1960s, when the innovation processes unfolded linearly, through
more complicated systems, until the contemporary process which began after 2000 and is characterized by a large
focus on knowledge management [7]. The Fig. 1 shows the proposal’s UDI process, based on a literature review
shown above.
Fig. 1. User driven innovation process.
UDI process is open in character and based on users (future clients). The process is initiated by an impulse coming
from the market needs or knowledge. The next step is to create the idea of innovation. The idea should be disseminated
among future users. The main part of the process is discussion. The idea is modified during the discussion, which
allows for better meet the needs of customers. The Author shows two innovations ass the result of the process. The
final result (innovation) doesn’t have to end the process but it should be the beginning of the new idea.
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Elżbieta Szymańska / Procedia Engineering 182 ( 2017 ) 694 – 700
3. Methods
The research task was implemented using the Delphi method, enabling systematization of knowledge and
formulation of recommendations. Delphi is a qualitative method combining experts’ knowledge and opinions to reach
a conscious consensus on a complex problem, which is understood to mean a structured process of group
communication designed to ensure the effectiveness of actions taken by a community of independent persons who are
all committed to solving a complex problem [14]. In the literature, many varieties of the Delphi method can be
distinguished [17–19, 23, 25]. In the later research, the classic method was applied.
The paper presents the results of two rounds of a survey using the Delphi method which were conducted in June
and July 2015 in two rounds by using CAWI (electronic) questionnaire. The study involved 12 experts, scientists and
practitioners specializing in the fields of innovation and the economics. The survey made it possible to verify and
correct the survey questionnaire prepared using the CAVI method.
The next stage was market research carried out on providers of health services, since it seems that this group of
providers should be most interested in comments and suggestions of customers (patients, persons using health resort-
specific services). The entities to be examined were selected on the basis of the Polish Classification of Activity
(Section Q, Parts 86 and 87; Section Q, Part 86; Section I, Part 55; Section N, Part 79). The whole size of the examined
population was determined on the basis of the local data bank (BDL) as consisting of 241,393 entities. The size of the
representative sample was calculated using the calculator of the research sample. The following parameters were
adopted for the calculation of the size of the examined sample: the confidence level of 0.95, the expected fraction size
of 0.5 and the maximum error of 0.05. As a result of the calculations, the minimum sample size was determined as
384 entities. The research material was collected using a survey questionnaire as a tool. The research was carried out
from November 2015 to March 2016. Three techniques were applied to collect data: CAWI, PAPI and a telephone
interview. The CAWI technique, consisting in Internet-based mailing of electronic survey questionnaires, proved to
be hardly effective. Despite the purchase of 35,000 e-mail addresses and the sending out of the link to the questionnaire
(placed at the address: ankietka.pl), from 2 November to 31. December 2015 only 51 questionnaires were received.
In the light of this, the project implementers decided to use the technique of a telephone interview. Interviews were
carried out by trained interviewers who were students of Tourism and Recreation at the Management Faculty of the
Bialystok University of Technology, first-degree studies, semester IV. Despite many failures and respondents’
hostility, the students demonstrated great determination and effectiveness. Ultimately, as a result of the research (with
a simple random selection, taking into account the number of entities in particular provinces) carried out from
November 2015 to 2016, questionnaires were collected from 461 entities. The interviewers used both tools:
a questionnaire in the form of a paper and pencil interview (PAPI) which they filled in during the interview, and the
CAWI questionnaire which they filled in after the conversation. Barely 41 respondents indicated the implementation
of innovations with an active participation of service users (customers). Given such a small size of the sample, it
should be recognised that the research was qualitative in nature.
4. Research results
The providers of medical tourism services were able to choose two out of nine options representing examples of
innovation process models. UDI was indicated as one of two models or the only model by 41 respondents, which
represented 9% of the sample. The entities operated mainly as travel agencies (tour operators, travel intermediaries
and tourism providers) – 12 entities, i.e. 29%, followed by hotels or private medical service providers – with each
group consisting of 11 entities and each representing 27%. The other respondents represented single entities: a public
hospital (1), a health resort-based treatment units (1), pension (1) and spa (2). In addition, 2 entities did not mark any
answers in the table on “Providers”.
Among 13 different groups of entities, only those listed declared that they implemented the UDI processes.
The research results showed higher innovativeness of the entities which used the UDI processes than the others.
The average level of innovativeness of the examined layer of 41 entities was 3 innovations, while the average for the
whole sample was 0.95 innovations.
The structure of innovations should also be compared. In the research, they were divided in accordance with two
categories, i.e. type and range. Four basic groups were distinguished in accordance with the types of innovation: those
698 Elżbieta Szymańska / Procedia Engineering 182 ( 2017 ) 694 – 700
related to product, marketing, process and organization, as well as institutional and social ones. In turn, the importance
of an innovation is determined by its range. Thus, it is possible to distinguish innovations with a global, national and
regional range, as well as in the form of a novelty for a company.
Fig. 2. Comparison of innovation types introduced by entities implementing UDI processes with the other respondents.
Fig. 2 shows a clear difference between the average service providers of health tourism and the entities applying
the model UDI in the innovation process. The latter are much more innovative in every category of innovation.
The largest for almost fourfold difference is in terms of product innovation.
Fig. 3. Innovation range of entities implementing UDI processes compared with the other respondents.
Entities introducing innovations with users introduced almost three times more innovation of a unique (global)
(39%) than other entities (14%). It is shown in Fig. 3. Similar proportions for innovation at national and regional level.
5. Discussion
The results of this research should be subjected to a deep discussion. It should be considered why enterprises
providing services which are so important for society do not follow their customers’ opinions in the innovation
process. Is this the result of the lack of relevant knowledge among their managers? Or perhaps, knowing that there is
a large demand for health services, the employees and entrepreneurs do not see the need to engage patients in the
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Elżbieta Szymańska / Procedia Engineering 182 ( 2017 ) 694 – 700
process of creating their offer, organisational processes or interactive forms of marketing. In order to answer the
questions which arose in the course of the research, its scope would have to be expanded. And, perhaps, an extensive
study of the needs of customers (patients) would pave the way for their broader cooperation.
6. Conclusion
On the basis of the research, it can be stated that the objective laid down in the Introduction has been achieved.
This research enables the formulation of the following conclusions of a theoretical nature which may make a certain
contribution to innovation management theory:
Entities using model UDI in the innovation process perform significantly better in terms of the number and
importance placed on innovation, introducing nearly three times more innovation than the average service provider
of health tourism. This allowed for positive verification of the hypothesis
Most innovation introduced in the range of products
As for the rank of innovation, the largest number of them is national rank.
On the basis of the research results, the following conclusions of an implementing nature can be drawn:
In order to improve the innovation it is recommended that the open process, particularly involving users
This is particularly important when introducing product innovations, where the voice of users in the process
of developing the concept of innovation is extremely important.
The study of UDI innovation processes should expand in order to enable the implementation of the model by the
entities using other, less advanced models in practice.
Acknowledgements
The r esearch was realized in the frame of work number S/WZ/5/2015 and was financed by Ministry of Science and Higher Education from the
science fund.
7th International Conference on Engineering, Project, and Production Management (EPPM2016) was financed
in the framework of the contract no. 712/P-DUN/2016 by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education from
the funds earmarked for the public unders
tanding of science initiatives.
7th International Conference on Engineering, Project, and Production Management (EPPM2016) finansowana
w ramach umowy 712/P-DUN/2016 ze środków Ministra Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego przeznaczonych
na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.
7th International Conference on Engineering, Project, and Production Management (EPPM2016)
was co-organised by the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture (Poland).
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