A NEW INNOVATION MODEL PARADIGM: THE EMERGENCE OF USERS AS INNOVATORS

Despite the assumption that new product development is an activity developed in research centres and development laboratories, there are common product market users that, unsatisfied with the global market offer, pursue the unique solution that fit their specific needs, readapting, reinventing or presenting completely new solutions and products. Dealing with real market gaps, where no solution has yet been addressed by the industry, these users, users as innovators, can be seen as positioned at the top of the innovation process, identifying and solving future market needs. Users as innovators can also be identified as users that find unsolved problems where companies do not believe it is worthwhile investing. (Hienerth, 2004) Led by the need to fulfil their needs not filled by conventional products available on the market, user innovators do not comply with the traditional pre requisites of economic bases to start innovating. According to Von Hippel (2006) this trend, denominated as democratization of innovations, is the result of two related technical trends: improving design capabilities and increasing ability of individual users to combine and coordinate their innovations.