Title: Sustainability innovation by integrating employees: the potential of sustainable embedded lead users

Authors: Marc Schmidt-Keilich; Ulf Schrader

Addresses: Technische Universität Berlin, Economic Education and Sustainable Consumption, Institute for Vocational Education and Work Studies, Sekr. MAR 1-1, Marchstr. 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany ' Technische Universität Berlin, Economic Education and Sustainable Consumption, Institute for Vocational Education and Work Studies, Sekr. MAR 1-1, Marchstr. 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany

Abstract: Recent studies in innovation management have explored the phenomenon of embedded lead users (ELUs): company employees who exhibit lead user characteristics with regard to a product marketed by their employer (Schweisfurth and Herstatt, 2014). Because they are doubly embedded, i.e., in both producer and user domain, these employees possess specific resources and capabilities which may be beneficial to corporate innovation. While the concept of ELU has been analysed in sports, leisure and healthcare industries, this paper suggests that the phenomenon may also be highly relevant in the context of sustainability innovations. By bringing together existing conceptualisations of a sustainable lead user outside of corporate boundaries and the ELU approach, the concept of sustainable embedded lead users (SELU) is presented. We show why SELU are suited to support corporate sustainability innovations and discuss opportunities and limitations of this approach for (sustainable) innovation and human resource management.

Keywords: ELU; embedded lead user; sustainability innovation; user innovation; employee participation; open innovation; sustainable development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISD.2019.096733

International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, 2019 Vol.13 No.1, pp.98 - 115

Received: 27 Jan 2017
Accepted: 08 Oct 2017
Published online: 10 Dec 2018 *

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