Facilitating Supplementary Innovation in the Digital Game Industry: The Role of Modding Toolkits

Game modifications (mods) developed by users are common in the digital game industry, serving as a form of user-driven supplementary innovation that enables game developers to extend the lifespan of their core games. Companies have recognized the strategic value of such innovation and offered official modding toolkits to support users’ endeavors. Nevertheless, the effects of modding toolkits on mod performance are not well understood, as extant literature is fragmented and descriptive, lacking an examination of the relationship between official modding toolkits and mod performance. This study plans to address this knowledge gap by analyzing official toolkit documents and behavioral data from platforms such as Nexus Mod and investigating the effects of modding toolkit features on mod performance. By advancing our knowledge of the supplementary innovation toolkit as a strategic approach in the digital game industry, the study is expected to provide valuable insights into extending product lifespan and utility

ONLINE SERVICE CO-CUSTOMIZATION: HOW THE PARTNER AND THE INFORMATION PRESENTATION AFFECTS TOURISTS’ CHOICE OF ONLINE TOUR SERVICES

People always travel with their friends. Some of them would like to design their travel plan together while some others would like to design their plan singly. Prior studies most focus on the single decision context. This paper investigates the collaborative customization in the joint decision and joint consumption context, and the information presentation format (attribute-based vs. bundle-based) effect on the tourists’ decision and behaviour is discussed. We also consider the relationship effect. And finally the potential theoretical contribution and practical implication are discussed

Distributed Innovation Processes: Key Concepts, Case Studies, Current Developments

This paper provides a brief overview of the concepts of collective invention, user innovation, and open innovation. All three terms describe variants of distributed innovation processes and can be linked to further ideas of socio-economic decentralization. First, the conceptual differences between collective invention, user innovation, and open innovation are elaborated. Second, exemplary case studies from the past decades are presented before more recent forms of distributed innovation in the development of infor-mation technologies are discussed. In this context, it becomes evident that distributed innovation processes and internal research and development activities in public and private sector organizations are not in competition with each other but rather in a complementary relationship.Das vorliegende Diskussionspapier bietet einen kompakten Überblick über die Konzepte der Collective Invention, User Innovation und Open Innovation, die unterschiedliche Ausprägungen verteilter Innovationsprozesse beschreiben. Nach einer Aufarbeitung ihrer jeweiligen konzeptuellen Schwerpunkte wird ihr praktisches Zusammenspiel anhand exemplarischer Fallstudien aus den letzten Jahrzehnten illustriert. Daran anknüpfend erfolgt die Diskussion neuerer Entwicklungen auf dem Feld der Informationstechnologien sowie eine kritische Würdigung. Dabei wird ersichtlich, dass verteilte Innovationsprozesse und interne Forschungs- und Entwicklungsaktivitäten in öffentlichen und privatwirtschaftlichen Organisationen in der Regel nicht in einem konkurrierenden, sondern in einem komplementären Verhältnis zueinander stehen

SIMPLIFYING SOLUTION SPACE: A MULTIPLE CASE STUDY ON 3D PRINTING TOOLKITS

Flexible production technologies like 3D printing give users a large solution space to innovate and design. To harness the full potential of these technologies, it is imperative to provide toolkits, with structured and simplified solution space that meets the needs of users with low involvement. This pa-per explores the manner in which the solution space of 3D printing toolkits is simplified for non-expert users. Toolkit solution space was analysed in 68 toolkits with two perspectives of modularity: 1) Mod-ularity-in-use and 2) Modularity-in-design. First, the solution spaces were categorized in a 2x2 matrix by using the perspective of modularity-in-use, i.e. design questions and design options they offer to users. Second, this categorization and the perspective of modularity-in-design were used to identify mechanisms that simplify toolkit solution spaces. Solution space can be simplified for non-expert users by 1) offering iterative design questions with known design options, 2) using generative algorithms, 3) reusing designs and components from other users and 4) offering ‘meta-toolkits’ for users to create their own toolkits. The meta-toolkits democratize toolkit creation, and simplify solution space for non-expert users, as they design innovative and customizable products, together with expert users, without losing design flexibility

An Exploration of User Innovation from Inside the Firms: Uncovering Internal Dynamics and Embedded Lead Userness

openThis thesis contributes to the UI research by suggesting that firms need to put more emphasize on the internal dynamics by defining and boosting their strategic, organizational, and managerial potentials. At the same time, it suggests that the human side of the collaboration which deals with individual, choices, abilities, and motivations needs more attention in particular concerning lead userness. Based on the three papers, this PhD thesis aims to enhance our understanding of different perspectives of user innovation by providing a categorization of both external-to-the-firm and internal-to-the-firm themes and tackling the embedded userness. The first paper aims to scrutinize the “locus” of UI meaning to distinguish between studies focusing on external-to-the-firm conditions of UI. By conducting a systematic literature review , this study explores the existing studies focusing on external-to-the-firm conditions of UI (user’s types, users’ roles, enabling platforms, etc.) and papers focusing on internal-to-the-firm conditions of UI, such as strategies, capabilities and organizational routines that trigger and support UI processes. While current studies tackle different angles of the UI mostly from an external-to-the-firm perspective, this study identifies two general streams of research from both perspectives from inside and outside of the firm and provides a complete categorization of different aspects and themes of each perspective. The second paper investigates internal dynamics of firm–users collaboration by bridging the literature on user innovation and the literature on open innovation. Based on a systematic literature review, this study provides a more detailed categorization of internal-to-the firm conditions. The findings of this study highlight the precise sub-streams of each internal dynamic group including strategic, organizational, and managerial dynamics. Finally, based on the findings of the second study associated with dearth of research on micro-foundations or in other words human side of UI, the third study examines the individual-level antecedents of embedded lead userness. More specifically, based on the data coming from collected from 554 employees belonging to 42 Italian and Croatian small and medium-sized companies, this study inspects the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and ELU when mediated by creative bootlegging. The findings show that employees who show self-motivation and conviction in entrepreneurial activities also tend to commit (enjoy carving out some time to be committed) to unofficial innovation projects which in turn make them become more curious and expert about the products and to act as lead users. Overall, the findings of the thesis are important to further advance the innovation management research and in particular UI research. Taken together, these findings shed more light on the various processes, roles, decisions as well as human and psychological arguments that underpin the use of UI in firms. The thesis concludes by summarizing the key theoretical and managerial contributions of the three papers and then the limitations and avenues for further research on UI is provided.This thesis contributes to the UI research by suggesting that firms need to put more emphasize on the internal dynamics by defining and boosting their strategic, organizational, and managerial potentials. At the same time, it suggests that the human side of the collaboration which deals with individual, choices, abilities, and motivations needs more attention in particular concerning lead userness. Based on the three papers, this PhD thesis aims to enhance our understanding of different perspectives of user innovation by providing a categorization of both external-to-the-firm and internal-to-the-firm themes and tackling the embedded userness. The first paper aims to scrutinize the “locus” of UI meaning to distinguish between studies focusing on external-to-the-firm conditions of UI. By conducting a systematic literature review , this study explores the existing studies focusing on external-to-the-firm conditions of UI (user’s types, users’ roles, enabling platforms, etc.) and papers focusing on internal-to-the-firm conditions of UI, such as strategies, capabilities and organizational routines that trigger and support UI processes. While current studies tackle different angles of the UI mostly from an external-to-the-firm perspective, this study identifies two general streams of research from both perspectives from inside and outside of the firm and provides a complete categorization of different aspects and themes of each perspective. The second paper investigates internal dynamics of firm–users collaboration by bridging the literature on user innovation and the literature on open innovation. Based on a systematic literature review, this study provides a more detailed categorization of internal-to-the firm conditions. The findings of this study highlight the precise sub-streams of each internal dynamic group including strategic, organizational, and managerial dynamics. Finally, based on the findings of the second study associated with dearth of research on micro-foundations or in other words human side of UI, the third study examines the individual-level antecedents of embedded lead userness. More specifically, based on the data coming from collected from 554 employees belonging to 42 Italian and Croatian small and medium-sized companies, this study inspects the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and ELU when mediated by creative bootlegging. The findings show that employees who show self-motivation and conviction in entrepreneurial activities also tend to commit (enjoy carving out some time to be committed) to unofficial innovation projects which in turn make them become more curious and expert about the products and to act as lead users. Overall, the findings of the thesis are important to further advance the innovation management research and in particular UI research. Taken together, these findings shed more light on the various processes, roles, decisions as well as human and psychological arguments that underpin the use of UI in firms. The thesis concludes by summarizing the key theoretical and managerial contributions of the three papers and then the limitations and avenues for further research on UI is provided.Dottorato di ricerca in Scienze manageriali e attuarialiopenGhasemzadeh, Khatere