This study attempts to find a solution to the problem of a lack of employees and focuses on the role of the lead user in the success of fast-growing industries, especially in the field of the game industry. The comput...This study attempts to find a solution to the problem of a lack of employees and focuses on the role of the lead user in the success of fast-growing industries, especially in the field of the game industry. The computer game industry is one of the youngest and fastest growing new media industry sectors. Finnish gaming company, Rovio, is an excellent example of this phenomenal growth. The company hired up to 10 new people per week last year. However, labor shortages in the gaming industry make finding employees difficult. Utilizing lead users might be one solution for labour shortages in the gaming industry. A lead user is a user of a offering who currently experiences needs still unknown to the public and who also benefits greatly if he obtains a solution to these needs. This research describes one case where lead users in a game development process were utilized successfully. This research results indicate that lead users are a willing, untapped, and limitless source of innovation for the development process in industries where users feel passionately about the service.展开更多
This paper empirically investigates into the business performance benefit that lead users or opinion leaders among small business owners draw from their higher involvement in management accounting or marketing topics....This paper empirically investigates into the business performance benefit that lead users or opinion leaders among small business owners draw from their higher involvement in management accounting or marketing topics. This work also contributes to a better identification of network members’ roles solely through their ties between each other. Indeed, lead users and opinion leaders can be differentiated by a higher degree centrality in comparison to their peers. However, being an opinion leader or a lead user does not yield a measurable business benefit to the small businesses studied in this sample.展开更多
文摘This study attempts to find a solution to the problem of a lack of employees and focuses on the role of the lead user in the success of fast-growing industries, especially in the field of the game industry. The computer game industry is one of the youngest and fastest growing new media industry sectors. Finnish gaming company, Rovio, is an excellent example of this phenomenal growth. The company hired up to 10 new people per week last year. However, labor shortages in the gaming industry make finding employees difficult. Utilizing lead users might be one solution for labour shortages in the gaming industry. A lead user is a user of a offering who currently experiences needs still unknown to the public and who also benefits greatly if he obtains a solution to these needs. This research describes one case where lead users in a game development process were utilized successfully. This research results indicate that lead users are a willing, untapped, and limitless source of innovation for the development process in industries where users feel passionately about the service.
文摘This paper empirically investigates into the business performance benefit that lead users or opinion leaders among small business owners draw from their higher involvement in management accounting or marketing topics. This work also contributes to a better identification of network members’ roles solely through their ties between each other. Indeed, lead users and opinion leaders can be differentiated by a higher degree centrality in comparison to their peers. However, being an opinion leader or a lead user does not yield a measurable business benefit to the small businesses studied in this sample.
