This article explores how entrepreneurs engage users in innovation in order to identify collaboration opportunities between entrepreneurship and technical and professional communication (TPC) scholars interested in user experience (UX). This article surveyed American entrepreneurs (N = 100) asking when and how they involve users in product development. The results suggest that most entrepreneurs do engage users to drive innovation and understand their markets, but do so largely through informal means. Our research suggests that UX can serve as a connection point for TPC scholars and entrepreneurs, especially if TPC emphasizes the role of UX in innovation and offers entrepreneurs efficient yet reliable user-research methodologies.
AlamI. (2004). Interacting with customers in the new product development process. In KahnK. B. (Ed.), The PDMA handbook of new product development (2nd Edition, pp. 249–262). John Wiley and Sons.
2.
AmorosoS.AudrestchD. B.LinkA. N. (2018). Sources of knowledge used by entrepreneurial firms in the European high-tech sector. Eurasian Business Review, 8, 55–70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40821-017-0078-4
3.
BachaJ. A. (2018). Mapping use, storytelling, and experience design: User-network tracking as a component of usability and sustainability. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 33(2), 198–228. https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651917746708
4.
BennettV. M.ChatterjiA. K. (2019). The entrepreneurial process: evidence form a nationally representative survey. Strategic Management Journal, 44(1), 86–116. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3077
5.
BirdM.McGillionM.ChambersE. M.DixJ.FajardoC. J.GilmourM.LevesqueK.LimA.MierdelS.OuelletteC.PolanskiA. N.ReaumeS. V.WhitmoreC.CarterN. (2021). A generative co-design framework for healthcare innovation: Development and application of an end-user engagement framework. Research Involvement and Engagement, 7(12), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-021-00252-7
CampbellA. J.CoopterR. G. (1999). Do customer partnerships improve new product success rates?Industrial Marketing Management, 28(5), 507–519. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0019-8501(99)00058-9
9.
CampbellT.LaniusC. (2023). A-proxy-mate users: An industry-driven, flexible, testable, reliable model for selecting proxy users. Communication Design Quarterly, 11(4), 49–52. https://doi.org/10.1145/3592378.3592382
10.
ChenT.DrennanJ.AndrewsL.HollebeekL. D. (2018). User experience sharing: Understanding customer initiation of value co-creation in online communities. European Journal of Marketing, 52(5–6), 1154–1184. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-05-2016-0298
11.
ChuangS.LinH. (2015). Co-creating e-service innovations: Theory, practice, and impact on firm performance. International Journal of Information Management, 35(3), 277–291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2015.01.002
12.
CoatesN. F.CookI.RobinsonH. (1996). Idea generation techniques in an industrial market. Journal of Marketing Practice: Applied Marketing Science, 3(2), 107–118. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000004336
13.
DanisS.YarginG. T.Süner-Pla-CerdàS. (2023). Remote UX research in unpredictable times: Takeaways from early pandemic practices. Journal of User Experience, 19(1), 8–31.
14.
DhargalkarK.ShindeK.AroraY. (2016). A universal new product development and upgradation framework. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 5(27), 2–16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-016-0055-7
15.
EgbetokunA. A.SiyanbolaW. O.SanniM.OlamadeO. O.AdeniyiA. A.IrefinI. A. (2009). What drives innovation? Inferences from an industry-wide survey in Nigeria. International Journal of Technology Management, 45(1/2), 123–140. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTM.2009.021524
16.
FlintD. J. (2002). Compressing new product success-to-success cycle time: Deep customer value understanding and idea generation. Industrial Marketing Management, 31(4), 305–315. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0019-8501(01)00165-1
17.
FlorénH.FrishammerJ. (2012). From preliminary ideas to corroborated product definitions: Managing the front end of new product development. California Management Review, 54(4), 20–43. https://doi.org/10.1525/cmr.2012.54.4.20
18.
FraibergS. (2017). Start-up nation: Studying transnational entrepreneurial practices in Israel’s start-up ecosystem. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 31(3), 350–388. https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651917695541
19.
FrankeN.ShahS. (2003). How communities support innovative activities: An exploration of assistance and sharing among end-users. Research Policy, 32(1), 157–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-7333(02)00006-9
20.
FrishammerJ.LichtenthalterU.RichtnérA. (2013). Managing process development: Key issues and dimensions in the front end. R&D Management, 43(3), 213–226. https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12011
21.
FronemannN.PeissnerM. (2014). User experience concept exploration: user needs as a source for innovation. In NordiCHI ‘14: Proceedings of the 8th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Fun, Fast, Foundational, October 2014, pp 727–736.
22.
GalbraithC. S.McKinneyB. C.DeNobleA. F.EhrlichS. B. (2014). The impact of presentation form, entrepreneurial passion, and perceived preparedness on obtaining grant funding. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 28(2), 222–248. https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651913513902
23.
GerdingJ. M.VealeyK. P. (2017). When is a solution not a solution? Wicked problems, hybrid solutions, and rhetoric of civic entrepreneurship. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 31(3), 290–318. https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651917695538
24.
GoganB.BelinskyS. J. (2022). Emotion, rhetoric, and entrepreneurial experience: A survey of start-up community membership. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 36(4), 440–483. https://doi.org/10.1177/10506519221105490
25.
GongC. (2020, March). Research on design thinking transforming the curriculum of entrepreneurship education. In 4th International Conference on Culture, Education and Economic Development of Modern Society (ICCESE 2020) (pp. 791–794). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.200316.173
26.
GreenwoodA.LaurenB.KnottJ.DeVossD. N. (2019). Dissensus, resistance, and ideology: Design thinking as a rhetorical methodology. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 33(4), 400–424. https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651919854063
27.
GreerC. R.LeiD. (2012). Collaborative innovation with customers: A review of literature and suggestions for future research. International Journal of Management Review, 14(1), 63–84. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2370.2011.00310.x
28.
Griffiths-HermansJ.GroverR. (2006). Setting the stage for creative new products investigating the idea fruition process. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 34(1), 27–39. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070305281777
HeJ.HanT.ZhuD.FanB.JinC.SongZ. (2020). User experience: How to drive innovation on the fuzzy front end. In MarcusA.RosenweigE. (Eds.), Design, User Experience, and Usability. Interaction Design. HCII 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 12200 (pp. 130–146). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49713-2_9
31.
HeisekanenE.HyvonenK.NivaM.PantzarM.TimonenP.VarjonenJ. (2007). User involvement in radicial innovation: Are customer conservative?European Journal of Innovation Management, 10(4), 489–509. https://doi.org/10.1108/14601060710828790
32.
HokkanenL., & Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila, K. (2015). UX Work in startups: Current practices and future needs. In LasseniusC.DingsøyrT.PaasivaaraM. (Eds.), Agile processes in software engineering and extreme programming (pp. 81–92). Springer.
33.
HokkanenL.XuY.VäänänenK. (2016). Focusing on user experience and business models in startups: investigation of two-dimensional value creation. AcademicMindtrek ‘16: Proceedings of the 20th International Academic Mindtrek Conference, October 2016. 59–67.
34.
HovdeM. R. (2001). Research tactics for constructing perceptions of subject matter in organizational contexts: An ethnographic study of technical communicators. Technical Communication Quarterly, 10(1), 59–95. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15427625tcq1001_3
35.
IndN.IglesiasO.SchultzM. (2013). Building brands together: Emergence and outcomes of co-creation. California Management Review, 55(3), 5–26. https://doi.org/10.1525/cmr.2013.55.3.5
36.
JonesN. N. (2017). Rhetorical narratives of Black entrepreneurs: The business of race, agency, and cultural empowerment. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 31(3), 319–349. https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651917695540
37.
JoshiA. W.SharmaS. (2004). Customer knowledge development: Antecedents and impact on new product performance. Journal of Marketing, 68(October 2004), 47–59. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.68.4.47.42722
38.
KaasinenE.Koskela-HuotariK.IkonenV.NiemeläM.NäkkiP. (2012). Three approaches to co-creating services with users. In SpohrerJ. C.FreundL. E. (Eds.), Advances in the human Side of service engineering (pp. 4343–4352). CRC Press.
39.
KarahanoğluA.BakırlıoğluY. (2022). Evaluation of the usefulness of path of long-term user experience model in design process. Behaviour & Information Technology, 41(4), 777–795. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2020.1836256
40.
KirksceyR. (2022). Development and patient user experience evaluation of an mHealth informational app for osteoporosis. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 38(8), 707–718. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2021.1965773
41.
KirnerE.KinkelS.JaegerA. (2009). Innovation paths and the innovation performance of low-technology firms-an empirical analysis of German industry. Research Policy, 38(3), 447–458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2008.10.011
42.
KleinL. (2013). UX for lean startups: Faster, smarter user experience research and design. O’Reilly Media, Inc.
43.
KosonenM.GanC.OlanderH.BlomqvistK. (2013). My idea is our idea! supporting user-driven innovation activities in crowdsourcing communities. International Journal of Innovation Management, 17(3), 160–167. https://doi.org/10.1142/S1363919613400100
44.
KristenssonP.GustafssonA.ArcherT. (2004). Harnessing the creative potential among users. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 21(1), 4–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0737-6782.2004.00050.x
45.
KristenssonP.MatthingJ.JohanssonN. (2008). Key strategies for the successful involvement of customers in the co-creation of new technology-based services. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 19(4), 474–491. https://doi.org/10.1108/09564230810891914
46.
KuusinenK.SørensenM. K.FrederiksenN. M.LaugesenN. K.JuulS. H. (2019). From startup to scaleup: An interview study of the development of user experience work in a data-intensive company. In Human-Centered Software Engineering: 7th IFIP WG 13.2 International Working Conference, HCSE 2018, Sophia Antipolis, France, September 3–5, 2018, Revised Selected Papers 7 (pp. 3–14). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05909-5_1
47.
LevyJ. (2015). UX Strategy: How to Devise Innovative Digital Products that People Want. O’Reilly Media.
48.
LilienG. L.MorrisonP. D.SearlsK.SonnackM.von HippelE. (2002). Performance assessment of the lead user idea-generation process for new product development. Management Science, 48(8), 995–1101. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.48.8.1042.171
49.
LintonG.KlintonM. (2019). University entrepreneurship education: A design-thinking approach to learning. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 8(3), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-018-0098-z
50.
LiuQ.DuQ.HongY.FanW.WuS. (2020a). User idea implementation in open innovation communities: Evidence from a new product development crowdsourcing community. Information Systems Journal, 30(5), 899–927. https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12286
51.
MarvelM.LumpkinT. (2007). Technology entrepreneurs’ human capital and its effects on innovation radicalness. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 31(6), 807–828. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2007.00209.x
52.
MatthingJ.KristenssonP.GustafssonA.ParasuramanA. (2006). Developing successful technology-based services: The issue of identifying and involving innovative users. Journal of Services Marketing, 20(5), 288–297. https://doi.org/10.1108/08876040610679909
53.
MeinelM.EismannT. T.BaccarellaC. V.FixsonS. K.VoigtK. (2020). Does applying design thinking result in better new product concepts than a traditional innovation approach? An experimental comparison study. European Management Journal, 38(4), 661–671. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2020.02.002
54.
MeltonH. L.HartlingM. D. (2015). Customer and frontline employee influence on new service development performance. Journal of Service Research, 13(4), 411–425. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670510369378
55.
MoonH.SungH.ChunH. J.HongS. W. (2016). A design process for a customer journey map: A case study on mobile services. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries, 26(4), 501–514. https://doi.org/10.1002/hfm.20673
56.
MoreauC. (2022). Teaching students in the technical and profession communication classroom practices for innovation rhetoric. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 36(4), 484–523. https://doi.org/10.1177/10506519221105495
57.
NishikawaH.SchreierM.OgawaS. (2013). User-generated versus designer-generated products: A performance assessment at Muji. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 30(2), 160–167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2012.09.002
PallotM.PawarK.KrawczykP.TopolowskiM.LecossierA.RahmanA.RazekA. (2020). Evaluating user experience as a means to reveal the potential adoption of innovative ideas. 2020 IEEE International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Innovation (ICE/ITMC).
60.
PellegriniM. T. (2023). ‘F—-Shark Tank:’ Rethinking the centrality of the business pitch in microenterprise entrepreneurship. Technical Communication Quarterly, 1–16.https://doi.org/10.1080/10572252.2023.2246050
61.
PoetzM. K.SchreierM. (2012). The value of crowdsourcing: Can users really compete with professionals in generating new product ideas?Journal of Product Innovation Management, 29(2), 245–256. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5885.2011.00893.x
62.
Pope-RuarkR.ThamJ.MosesJ.ConnerT. (2019). Introduction to special issue: Design-thinking approaches in technical and professional communication. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 33(4), 370–375. https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651919854054
63.
PrandelliE.SawhneyM.VeronaG. (2008). Collaborating with customers to innovate: conceiving and marketing products in the networking age. Edward Elgar.
64.
PurwantoA. (2016). User research and opportunities for innovation: Exploring methods and tools. Masters Thesis, Uppsala University.
65.
RadnejadA. B.SarkarS.OsiyevskyyO. (2022). Design thinking in responding to disruptive innovation: A case study. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 23(1), 39–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/14657503211033940
66.
RajanP. (2021). Making-do on the margins: Organizing resource seeking and rhetorical agency in communities during grassroots entrepreneurship. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 35(2), 254–292. https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651920979999
67.
RoschuniC.GoodmanE.AgoginoA. M. (2013). Communicating actionable user research for human-centered design. Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing, 27(2), 143–154. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0890060413000048
68.
RoseE.TenenbergJ. (2015). Arguing about design: A taxonomy of rhetorical strategies deployed by user experience practitioners. SIGDOC ‘16, September 23–24, 2016, Silver Spring, MD. https://doi.org/10.1145/2987592.2987608
69.
RundbladK. (2011). The academic library startup: innovation and social technologies. AJCU Conference 2011.
70.
SaldanhaT. J. V.MithasS.KrishnanM. S. (2017). Leveraging customer involvement for fueling innovation: The role of relational and analytical information processing capabilities. MIS Quarterly, 41(1), 267–286. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26629647
71.
SawhneyM.VeronaG.PrandelloE. (2005). Collaborating to create: The internet as a platform for customer engagement in product innovation. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 19(4), 4–17. https://doi.org/10.1002/dir.20046
72.
SchulzJ.SteinhoffF.JepsenK. (2017). Strike while the iron is hot: User centricity adapted to the AGILE innovation development process. In PfeffermannN.GouldJ. (Eds.), Strategy and communication for innovation (pp. 349–365). Springer.
73.
SeyboldP. B. (2006). Outside Innovation. Collins.
74.
ShahS. K.TripsasM. (2007). The accidental entrepreneur: The emergent and collective process of user entrepreneurship. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 1(1–2), 123–140. https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.15
75.
ShinY.ImC.LeeS.KimJ. (2015). Experience innovation and business strategy: Design for user experience (UX) in new product development (NPD). Journal of Information Technology Services, 14(2), 231–251. https://doi.org/10.9716/KITS.2015.14.2.231
76.
ShinY.ImC.OhH.KimJ. (2017). Design for experience innovation: Understanding user experience in new product development. Behaviour & Information Technology, 36(12), 1218–1234. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2017.1368709
77.
Shivers-McNairA.GonzalesL.ZhyvotovskaT. (2019). An intersectional technofeminist framework for community-driven technology innovation. Computers and Composition, 51, 43–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compcom.2018.11.005
78.
SpartzJ. M.WeberR. P. (2015). Writing entrepreneurs: A survey of attitudes, habits, skills, and genres. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 29(4), 428–455. https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651915588145
79.
SpartzJ. M.WeberR. P. (2016, October). User experience as a driver of entrepreneurial innovation. In 2016IEEE International Professional Communication Conference (IPCC) (pp. 1–7). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/IPCC.2016.7740486
80.
SpinuzziC. (2017). Introduction to special issue on the rhetoric of entrepreneurship: Theories, methodologies, and practices. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 31(3), 275–289. https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651917695537
81.
SpinuzziC.CochranR.PogueG. P. (2023). Linked but desynched: An OODA analysis of associated entrepreneurship accelerator programs. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 37(1), 28–67. https://doi.org/10.1177/10506519221121813
82.
SprollS.PeissnerM.SturmC. (2010). From product concept to user experience: exploring UX potentials at early product stages. In NordiCHI ‘10: Proceedings of the 6th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Extending Boundaries, October 2010, pp 473–482.
83.
SturmC.AlyM.SchimdtB. V.FlattenT. (2017). Entrepreneurial & UX mindsets: two perspectives - one objective. MobileHCI ‘17: Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services, September 2017, pp 1–11.
ThominetL. (2018). How to be open: User experience and technical communication in an emerging game development methodology. Communication Design Quarterly, 6(2), 70–82. https://doi.org/10.1145/3282665.3282672
87.
ThomkeS.von HippelE. (2002). Customers as innovators: A new way to create value. Harvard Business Review, 80(4), 5–11.
88.
TomlinsonE. C. (2020). Stasis in the Shark Tank: Persuading an audience of funders to act on behalf of entrepreneurs. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 34(3), 221–249. https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651920910219
89.
TouloumK.IdoughiD.SeffahA. (2018). Leveraging user experience and touchpoints analysis for services design: Case of crisis management. The Journal of Interaction Science, 6(1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.24982/jois.1713018.001
90.
TroyL. C.SzymanskiD. M.VaradarajanP. R. (2001). Generating new product ideas: An initial investigation of the role of market information and organizational characteristics. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 29(1), 89–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070301291006
91.
VerhulsdonckG.HowardT.ThamJ. (2021). Investigating the impact of design thinking, content strategy, and artificial intelligence: A “streams” approach for technical communication and user experience. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 51(4), 468–492. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472816211041951
92.
VerhulsdonckG.ShalamovaN. (2020). Creating content that influences people: Considering user experience and behavioral design in technical communication. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 50(4), 376–400. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047281619880286
93.
Von HippelE. A. (1977). Has a customer already developed your next product?Sloan Management Review, 18(2), 63–74.
94.
Von HippelE. A. (1978). Successful industrial products from customer ideas. Journal of Marketing, 42(1), 39–49.
95.
WandahlS.JacobsenA.LassenA. H.PoulsenS. B.SørensenH. (2011). User-driven innovation in a construction material supply network. Construction Innovation: Information, Process, Management, 11(4), 399–415. https://doi.org/10.1108/14714171111175882
96.
WashingtonA.SoumahoroS.Saxena AroraA. (2020). Ideate-Generate: Design Thinking and User Experience (UX) for Sustainable Impact on Global Product Development of Wearable Technologies in the Healthcare Industry. In Saxena AroraA.Bacouel-JentjensS.SepehriM.AroraA. (Eds.), Sustainable Innovation. International Marketing and Management Research (pp. 15–24). Palgrave Pivot. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30421-8_2.
97.
WilliamsJ. (2022). Day or night at the museum: A UX analysis of virtual exhibits. Journal of Technical Writing and Cikommunication, 52(2), 166–181. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472816221074101
98.
YadavV.GoyalP. (2015). User innovation and entrepreneurship: Case studies from rural India. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 4(5), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-015-0018-4
99.
ZainaL. A. M.ÁlvaroA. (2015). A design methodology for user-centered innovation in the software development area. Journal of Systems and Software, 110, 155–177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2015.08.029
