Generating Customer Insights in Mid-sized B2B Companies: Integrative Review and Future Research Directions

Abstract

Mid-sized businesses (MSB) and particularly mid-sized B2B businesses (MSB2B) are often overlooked by scholars researching innovation management. However, MSBs are very important for the economy worldwide, and their growth depends on the developments of new products. The early identification and consideration of customers’ hidden needs are crucial for the successful development of new, differentiated products in MSBs. Techniques that can be used to generate customer insights are often referred to by the term voice of the customer (VOC). However, extant research on the value of VOC techniques is ambiguous, making it difficult for MSBs to decide which techniques may be most useful. This issue is compounded by MSBs having limited resources and limited knowledge about these techniques. Similarly, awareness of best practices for identifying customer needs is lacking, particularly as they relate to different types of innovation projects and different project stages. This integrative review clarifies these issues for MSB2Bs. Based on an analysis of the limited research on techniques for revealing hidden needs in MSB2Bs, practical, actionable recommendations are provided, including suggestions for which hidden needs techniques are most useful for MSB2Bs and best practices in this area. Future research directions are identified, and managerial implications for industrial product innovation in MSB2Bs are discussed.