Year
2019
Authors
LE NAGARD Emmanuelle, HAMDI‐KIDAR Linda, KEINZ Peter, VERNETTE Eric
Abstract
The large potential of lead users (LUs) in developing innovative and radically new product concepts is well established in the literature. However, in a widely acknowledged study, Hoffman et al. introduced the new concept of emergent‐nature consumers (ENCs) and showed the superiority of this group of individuals over LUs in developing new product concepts. Consequently, they postulated ENCs to be “the right consumers” to be integrated in new product development processes. In this article, we critically reflect and build on Hoffman et al.’s study and further investigate the promise of the ENC concept as compared to the LU concept.
HAMDI‐KIDAR, L., KEINZ, P., LE NAGARD, E. et VERNETTE, E. (2019). Comparing Lead Users to Emergent‐Nature Consumers as Sources of Innovation at Early Stages of New Product Development. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 36(5), pp. 616-631.