Product and service development is rapidly shifting from the R&D departments of producers to innovating users themselves – that is, to potential customers. Producers must reorient to find commercially-profitable designs among user prototypes, rather than exclusively relying on in-house development.

In this course, we will explore these new, internet age innovation processes. We will discuss how leaders can find, adopt, and profit from user-developed innovations in their own ventures and firms. We will also discuss the implications of the emerging “age of abundant and free innovation.”

Image source: Professor Eric von Hippel