Discussion Forums abound with Product Innovations (Doctoral dissertation: Piia Haavisto, M.Sc. Econ. & Bus. Adm., 26 September 2014, International Business)

​In her doctoral dissertation in International Business at the University of Turku, Piia Haavisto, M.Sc. (Econ. & Bus. Adm.), studied the use of discussion forums for product innovation. The objective of her study was to explore how companies could make use of the product ideas presented in discussion forums.

For her dissertation, Haavisto studied internet discussions on heart-rate monitors. According to Haavisto, consumers are eager to share their knowledge to help produce better products that support their training goals. Discussion forums provide information on the types of basic factors, performance factors and excitement factors consumers expect from a product. All of these define the value experienced by consumers.

– Consumers prefer to discuss ideas related to efficient fitness training and training results, says Haavisto, who has been studying online discussions of heart-rate monitors.

Doctoral dissertation introduces product innovation evangelists

According to Haavisto's dissertation, discussion forums can be used for product innovation without the company's participation in the discussion.

– Although possible, this is a relatively ineffective approach. A closed innovation forum in which consumers and company representatives interact with each other is clearly a more effective alternative.

In her dissertation, Haavisto introduces the concept of a product innovation evangelist, who is responsible for directing the discussion and maintaining a positive tone. Haavisto notes that the frequent changes of topic in online discussions make it easy to miss key points. It is therefore essential that someone is in charge and sets a direction for the discussion.

– An independent expert is a far more acceptable discussion participant than an official company representative. The discussions show that fitness and sports experts receive highly positive feedback and people like to chat with them.

Disappointment with products must be addressed quickly

According to Haavisto, many potential innovators involved in discussion forums expect active participation from the company.

– Negative feelings spread easily through forums and disappointment with products can turn into anger with the company if the latter is unaware of what is being said and fails to address the situation quickly. It is therefore important to handle any consumer complaints quickly, while rapidly addressing any problems that might result in negative feelings.

In her dissertation, Haavisto studied the use of discussion forums for generating ideas for incremental innovations. The research material consisted of 2,187 discussions gathered from 28 general or company-maintained forums related to heart-rate monitors.

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Piia Haavisto defended her doctoral dissertation in International Business entitled 'Discussion forums - From idea creation to incremental innovations. Focus on heart-rate monitors' on the 26th of September, 2014.

Opponent: Liisa-Maija Sainio
Custodian: Birgitta Sandberg