Exploring the benefits of integrating business model research within living lab projects

Business model and living lab research both have similar objectives – to maximize the probability of successful market introduction of innovative solutions – be it through different means. Yet, there are still only few studies or reports discussing both, with those studies that do touch the subject staying at a high level. iMinds Living Labs has gained a lot of experience in combined living lab and business model innovation projects and, rather than being competing approaches, our results have shown that these two research methodologies can be complementary, where the combined approach turns out to be more powerful than each individual approach used alone. The goal of this article is to promote the inclusion of business model research in a model of "a living lab as a service" (and vice versa) by explaining the benefits and by introducing a practical framework to implement such combined research tracks based on the experience at iMinds Living Labs over the past few years

Overcoming barriers to experimentation in business-to-business living labs

Business-to-business (B2B) living lab projects have been mentioned in different areas of academic research, but the innovation management literature requires deeper analysis of their potential opportunities and challenges. Real-life experimentation is a key requirement for living labs as it enables deeper insights in the potential success of innovations. However, the literature has not provided insights on how living lab projects can implement real-life experimentation in B2B innovation projects and does not describe appropriate conditions for experimentation in these settings. In this study, we identified three main barriers preventing real-life experimentation in B2B living lab projects: the technological complexity, the need for integration, and the difficulty in identifying testers. The barriers are discussed in detailed and potential solutions are provided to help overcome these barriers and stimulate the adoption of real-life experimentation in B2B innovation projects

The potential of experimentation in business-to-business living labs

The demand for business-to-business (b-to-b) Living Lab projects is growing significantly within iMinds Living Labs. Real-life experimentation is a key requirement for Living Labs as it enables deeper insights in the potential success of the innovation. However, literature has not provided insights on whether the Living Lab methodology is an appropriate approach for real-life experimentation with b-to-b innovations and does not provide conditions where experimenting in b-to-b Living Lab projects is applicable. Within this paper we performed a cross-case analysis of eight b-to-b Living Lab cases. We conclude that real-life experimentation is possible in Living Lab projects but the possibilities vary on a case level. Three barriers have been identified that help to determine the possibility of real-life experimentation in a b-to-b Living Lab project: the technological complexity, the need for integration and the difficulty to identify testers. Finally, we also described how these blocking factors can be overcome. This can be interesting for the reader to identify whether real-life experimentation will be possible or not in a b-to-b context

Innovation Management in Living Lab Projects: The Innovatrix Framework

Despite living labs being described as “orchestrators” and innovation intermediaries, there is scant literature providing concrete guidelines and tools for living lab practitioners on the topic of project-related innovation management. To address this need, we propose Innovatrix, an innovation management framework built upon existing business model and innovation management tools and frameworks and iterated based on practical experience in living lab projects. In this article, we illustrate the added value of the proposed framework through three practical case studies that lead to three propositions regarding innovation management in living lab projects. First, Innovatrix helps to scope the user involvement activities, which leads to greater efficiency and faster decision making. Second, Innovatrix forces the project owner to focus on a limited number of customer segments, which increases the speed of learning as the scarce entrepreneurial resources are dedicated to a limited number of segments. Third, Innovatrix allows practitioners to capture the iterations and pivots that were made during an innovation project, which helps to link specific outcomes with certain living lab activities

Exploring the benefits of combining business modelling with living labs

Business Modelling and Living Lab research both have similar objectives - to maximize the probability of successful market introduction of innovative solutions – be it through different means. Rather then being competing approaches, business modelling and living lab research methodologies are very complementary, where the combined approach turns out to be more powerful compared to the individual approaches. Yet there are still only very few studies or reports that discuss this topic, with those studies that do touch the subject staying high level. iMinds Living Lab has gained a lot of experience in combined Living Lab – Business Modelling innovation tracks. This paper discusses the benefits of such combined innovation tracks and shares the lessons learned at the iMinds Living Lab to provide clear guidelines and to serve as a basis for further study on the subject