Prospects of Technology-Enhanced Social Media Analysis for Open Innovation in the Leisure Industries

Abstract

The article describes a novel approach for the analysis of social media for innovation purposes. It starts with brief explanations of the advantages and disadvantages of the two most common analytical approaches: (1) the partially or fully automated, technical approach (social media mining and monitoring) and (2) the manual, socio-scientific approach (content analysis, e.g. netnography). Then, it depicts the novel, complementary approach developed by Salzburg Research with its hybrid technology-enhanced solution called “Innovation Signals”. This system constitutes the next step in the exploitation of user-generated content for strategic innovation purposes by combining quantitative and qualitative methods. After an explanation of the five steps of the “Innovation Signals” research process, the exemplary application of the solution is described/illustrated in this case study of the ski industry. Across different sectors of the economy, there is a huge potential for utilising social media for innovation purposes. This is especially true for the tourism and leisure industries, where social media can provide a vast amount of relevant information. A system for social media analysis like “Innovation Signals” is an extremely powerful solution. The long-term goal is to integrate it into a comprehensive innovation strategy consulting process.