A Living Lab as a Service: Creating Value for Micro-enterprises through Collaboration and Innovation

• Main Author: Anna Ståhlbröst
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Carleton University 2013-11-01
• Series: Technology Innovation Management Review
• Subjects: experience-based values; innovation intermediary; Living lab; micro-enterprise; value
• Online Access: http://timreview.ca/sites/default/files/article_PDF/St%C3%A5hlbr%C3%B6st_TIMReview_November2013.pdf

The need to innovate is increasingly important for all types and sizes of organizations, but the opportunities for innovation differ substantially between them. For micro-, small,- and medium-sized enterprises, innovation activities are both crucial and demanding because of limited resources, competencies, or vision to innovate their offerings. To support these organizations, the concept of living labs as a service has started to emerge. This concept refers to living labs offering services such as designing the idea-generation processes, planning or carrying out real-world tests of innovations, and pre-market launch assessments. In this article, we will present the findings from a study of micro-enterprises operating in the information technology development sector, including the experienced value of services provided to the companies by a research-based living lab. We share experiences from Botnia, our own living lab in northern Sweden. In this living lab, our aim of creating value for customers is of key importance. Our study shows that using a living lab as a service can generate three different types of value: improved innovations, the role the living lab can play, and the support the living lab offers.