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Institute for Ecological Economy Research GELENA Social Learning and Sustainability 13 th International Greening of Industry Network Conference Cardiff, 2-5 July 2006 www.gelena.net Consumer-Integration in Sustainable Product Development Esther Hoffmann Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) esther.hoffmann@ioew.de
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www.GELENA.net Outline User Involvement in Product Development The INNOCOPE method Experience with INNOCOPE Learning Results Conclusions
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www.GELENA.net Relevance of Users in Product Innovations New Product Success Studies Customer and market orientation Customer involvement Innovation Research Users are relevant sources for innovation ideas User feedback and re-invention by users Sustainability Changes in production and consumption patterns needed Shape products according to users’ needs
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www.GELENA.net INNOCOPE innovating through consumer-integrated product development Concept of a series of 3 workshops Consumers and company members Development and assessment of product ideas and concepts Small working groups Creative techniques Embedded in product development process
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www.GELENA.net Goals of INNOCOPE Mutual learning Increased knowledge Changes in values Changes in (potential) behaviour Concerning: Climate change and climate protection Product (production and use) The role of users in product development Climate-friendly products
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www.GELENA.net Application of INNOCOPE Product: Pedelecs (pedal electric cycles: bicycles supported by an electric motor) Goal: new target groups; bicycles for longer distances Company: Hawk Bikes E+M GmbH, Berlin/Germany Senior management, product management, design, sales 20 randomly selected consumers Diversity socio-demographic factors bicycle use environmental attitudes
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www.GELENA.net INNOCOPE Procedure
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www.GELENA.net Workshop 1: Testing of Pedelecs
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www.GELENA.net Workshop 2: Pedelec Concept for Transportation
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www.GELENA.net Workshop 3: Presentation of Prototype
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www.GELENA.net Organisational Learning Results Increase in Knowledge on User needs User preferences of product features Products‘ contribution to climate change Changes in Behaviour New products adopted to user needs Increase of climate-friendly behaviour
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www.GELENA.net Failures in Organisational Learning (Almost) no new knowledge on Climate change and climate protection How to involve users in product development No changes in values Role of users in product development Responsibility for climate protection (products, production processes) Awareness of climate change No changes in behaviour concerning Methods to analyse user needs
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www.GELENA.net Explanations for Learning Success Consumers accepted as knowledgeable actors Experts of every-day life Knowledge on bicycle usage and user needs Senior management support Took the decision to co-operate and decides on follow-up Participated in 2 workshops Positive assessment of INNOCOPE Creative Dialogue Creative techniques supported idea generation Interaction on implicit knowledge (drawing, story telling) Users dared to bring in their ideas
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www.GELENA.net Explanations for Learning Failures View of Users Sceptical towards users‘ ability to develop product ideas Senior manager has the most sceptical view Filtering mechanisms Clear ideas on consumer preferences hamper knowledge acquisition (e.g. relevance of design) Climate change and protection is considered as irrelevant concerning the company‘s products Incompleteness of learning process Newly acquired knowledge is neither distributed nor stored in the company
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www.GELENA.net Conclusions: Success Factors for Consumer-integration Open attitude of the company Commitment of users Start discussion from user needs Discussion in small groups Creative techniques Clearly defined tasks Involvement of relevant company members Senior management support Embedded in organisational processes Repeated interaction
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www.GELENA.net Thank you! Contact: Esther Hoffmann Institut für ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung (IÖW) gGmbH Institute for Ecological Economy Research Potsdamer Str. 105 10785 Berlin, Germany esther.hoffmann@ioew.de www.ioew.de tel. +49 – 30 – 884 594 – 22 Sponsored by:
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