Innovating the product innovation process to enable co-creation

Abstract

Organizations now look beyond their boundaries to locate NPD resources among suppliers, lead users, customers, and consumers. Consumer involvement in an innovation process implies considerable changes in traditional innovation practice and management. Consumers become partners in co-creation, a form of open innovation, and not mere objects of study. However, what is little known is how managers can innovate to enable co-creation. This paper presents an in-depth, single case study of a global confectionery brand and its multinational owner. We discuss the co-creation process undertaken to innovate both the product and the innovation process itself. We propose a process for new product development and discuss changes implicit with its adoption.