User-centered soft innovation in established business fields

Abstract

Developments in open and user-centered innovation are usually being discussed in the context of exploration of uncontested market space rather than exploitation of business potentials for established products. The substantial effort to acquire and utilize valid and specific insights from potential users keeps especially small and medium sized companies from taking sidesteps in the shoes of their customers. This paper presents a focused user-centered soft innovation (FUSION) framework that combines discounted user-centered innovation methods with radical steps beyond the innovation funnel in order to substantially and sustainably improve established business with minimal effort. Stepping back into the past, ahead into potential futures, and integrating perspectives from stakeholders beyond the usual suspects help to focus on success critical potentials for soft innovation and tweaks in the offering. A project case dealing with the optimization of entertainment offerings demonstrates the application of the framework. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.