Prof. Eric A von Hippel

Eric von Hippel's research discovers and explores patterns in the sources of innovation and develops new processes to improve the "fuzzy front end" of the innovation process-the end where ideas for breakthrough new products and services are developed. In his most recent book, Democratizing Innovation (MIT Press / April 2005), von Hippel shows how communities of users are actually becoming such powerful innovation "engines" that they are increasingly driving manufacturers out of product development altogether-a pattern he documents in fields ranging from open source software to sporting equipment. This discovery has been used to understand the innovation process better and to develop new innovation processes for industry. He is currently leading a major research project to discover how these user innovation communities work, and how and whether the same principles might extend to many areas of product and service development.

In addition, von Hippel is working with governmental and academic colleagues in the Netherlands, Denmark and the UK to develop new and modified governmental policies appropriate to the newly emerging innovation paradigm of user-centered innovation.