Customers involved in risk analysis of product innovation

Abstract: Customer involvement in product Innovation is the ability to improve product Innovation, product Innovation and effective risk reduction method, but the customer involved in product Innovation will bring to the enterprise risk of the article analyzes customer participation in product Innovation on the basis of motivation, that when the customer involved in product innovation, companies must carefully guard against the wrong choice of customers, loss of initiative, innovation, management innovation and organizational confusion and loss of key technologies such risks and to address these risks, made some practical recommendations.

Keywords: Customer participation in product innovation, risk

I. Introduction
Product innovation activity in China is going through a competition-oriented to customer-oriented from the transformation process, product innovation model is the core to dig and to achieve customer needs. Innovative products not only for the needs of existing customers is more important is to address the customer future demand, the customer as a source of product innovation for customers to become involved in the product innovation process of new product innovation strategies.

Customer involvement in product innovation is considered to improve product innovation, product innovation and reduce the risk of an effective way. Resource dependence theory, relationship marketing and some product innovation success stories, from both theoretical and empirical support for this view. Herstatt and Von Hippel, who hold that customer demand information and the corporate control of both the product innovation and is often a lack of effective integration, product innovation is the main reason for the failure. customers in product innovation, the enterprise customers the ability to effectively integrate and more accurately identify customer needs information to provide to the market through innovation to meet customer needs for new products and services.

Customer involvement in product innovation can bring many advantages, including improved product quality, to better meet customer needs, avoiding unnecessary costs and avoid adding unnecessary features customers to improve product acceptance, customer better understanding of the product, can more effectively use the product, increasing the organizational decision-making stakeholder participation, etc. However, everything has its two sides. the customer involved in product innovation will also bring some negative factors to the enterprise , and this has not been adequate Research, this paper make up this deficiency.

Second, the customers involved in new product innovation drivers
(A unique requirements
Snyder and Fromkin's unique theory that each customer not only the existence of their assimilation of the potential demand for the outside world (compliance requirements, but also there will distinguish themselves from the outside world to the potential demand (unique requirements. Different unique needs of customers there is a big difference. customers unique needs of the ultimate goal is to consciously seek differentiation, and rely on unique products to achieve.

Because the customer's unique needs and unique products for the unique needs of the importance of allowing customers to participate in product innovation for customers to highlight their significance. Customer involvement in product innovation process through access to meet their unique needs products and services, customer involvement in product innovation process as motivation when the customer unique needs of the higher level, the customer involved in product innovation and the greater the likelihood that when customers seeking unique will demand more intense, the customer will have stronger incentive to participate in product innovation process. Luthje participate in sports equipment products for customers innovative characteristics of the study also shows that there are unique needs of those actively involved in product innovation and customer common features. Herstatt and Von Hippel also pointed out the uniqueness of the customer demand is leading an important reason for participation in product innovation, because "leading customer facing new demand for products or services appearing on the market as early as the demand for months or even years."
(B relationship value
Relationship is between two people or two groups of people act with each other and feeling each other. Relations as well as by people in the form of organizations, including the act, and feel the two aspects of the interaction between the two, are indispensable. Enterprises and customers to establish a good relationship between companies and customers to bring additional value, is the relationship value, such as the customer, the relationship value including reducing transaction costs and achieve in-time to meet and fully personalized to meet, etc. There is a business relationship with the customer life cycle, relationship building, relationship development, relationship maintenance, and relationship breakdown, etc. four stages with the company to establish a good relationship is the customer in pursuit of relationship value drivers of product innovation.

Under normal circumstances, customers can be classified as trade relations between the customer and other customers and two types of trading customers only care about the price, but the relationship is the customer and hope to find a trustworthy supplier, and establish a lasting mutually beneficial partnership in the process of customer involvement in product innovation, customer relationship and business investment in a particular investment, all of which are beneficial to customers to increase business investment to provide the product value, so that products and services to meet customer needs more accurately. In addition, customer participation in product innovation and help to improve collaborative efforts between companies and customers the efficiency and effectiveness, thus enabling enterprises to more timely manner to meet customer needs.

(C experiential value
Pine and Gilmore will be divided into the evolution of the Economic value of cargo, goods, services and Experience in four stages. Experience is a personal psychological Experience, the customers participating in a process, by which the particular information or stimuli in the environment resulting from a response Experience to give customers lasting customer perception, because the fact is when the customer Experience to achieve emotional, physical, mental and even spiritual level of a particular, customer awareness resulting in better feeling, so when the experience is completed After the experience was worth dying continues.

The most appropriate stimulus level theory to explain the customer's experience in value-driven product innovation principle. The most appropriate stimulus level theory that each customer has a specific, relatively stable sense of self comfortable stimulation point, the point is the most appropriate customer stimulus level. customers receive the stimulus from the external environment and their emotional response to stimuli presented between a kind of inverted U-shaped function. vertex function is to stimulate the customer the most appropriate level, when the environment provides the stimulus level below the customer the most appropriate level of stimulation, individuals will seek new, unique and complex experience of exploratory behavior to increase the stimulation level. Customers will be involved in product innovation process as an experience of exploration activities, they bring them from the kind of innovation process novel, unique and complex experience increases the level of stimulation, be closer to their optimum stimulation point, so the customer involved in product innovation process is the customer experience from the process of innovation to get the value of the process.

(D Economic interests
In the theory of motivation, positive interest has always played an important role. John Hagel Ⅲ and Jeffrey F. Rayport that customers can control their own information in the case, only when the customer can get some Economic benefits, the customer was willing to enterprises to provide their personal information. customer involvement in product innovation, we must put their own information, knowledge and experience, so they expect a certain degree of Economic returns.

Herstatt and von Hippel analysis of innovation speed and innovation in the interests of the relationship between expectations by many types of products on the comparison that customers expect from innovative products in the Economic benefits the greater the customer more willing to participate in product innovation. Some customer expectations through innovation in products obtained directly from the company a certain return, and some customers also hope that through innovative products in the market from performance to gain further economic benefits. Luthje analysis of customer participation in windsurfing equipment innovations case found that many customers both expect to profit from the innovation process is also expected from the production and sale of innovative sports equipment in profit.

Third, the risk of the customer involved in product innovation
(An inappropriate choice of the risk of customer involvement in product innovation
Companies choose the right customer participation, customer participation in product innovation is a prerequisite for the role. Enterprises to absorb the customer involved in product innovation is intended to integrate enterprise product innovation and customer input, customer input, including customer information, customer experience, customer knowledge and technical know-how, etc. Different customers have different information, knowledge and experience do not, they will participate in product innovation is different to the role of different, inappropriate choice of the customer involved in product innovation may bring many problems.

To avoid this risk, we must establish effective criteria to select customers. Herstatt and Von Hippel according to customer needs, understanding of different innovation, product innovation and customer control of the process to varying degrees, will lead customers into regular customers and the customer.'s Leading customers one step ahead than other customers aware of market trends and generate new special needs, so they actively engage in product innovation, innovative products and expect to get from a certain economic profit for ordinary customers in the traditional market Research in the passively involved in the product innovation, such as quality function deployment, customer-centered design, concept testing, Beta testing, customization and other methods to attract customers also mainly ordinary customers. The selection of these customers must pay attention to whether they are businesses target customers, whether they facilitate participation in product innovation, whether they are interested in other issues.'s leading customer is a leading protagonist of the customer law. Selection of leading customers must note that they have sufficient market reputation, their ability to participate in product innovation, they can represent a potential market demand, companies can provide them with convenient and innovative "toolbox" and other issues.

(B weaken the risk of product innovation initiative
Companies involved in product innovation in the customer, there might be too dependent on the customer and weaken their own product innovation and initiative.'s Dependence on customers is reflected in many aspects, such as the customer's point of view and interests depend, rely on the customer experience, etc. turn affixed to the free download http://www.hi138.com customer perspectives and interests affected the direction of development of innovative products, companies should pay attention to them, but if excessive reliance on them may also cause unexpected adverse effects when business interests is not consistent with the customer when the customer's point of view and interests are often beneficial to the customer. the customer's point of view is often based on their needs and interests, which the enterprise product innovation, the advantages of both may also be a disadvantage. innovative products is designed according to the needs of customers, these customers purchase products form the reliable potential customers, so dependent on the customer's point of view and interests are advantages, but when these customers represent only a small part of the customer base even more than just a customer for innovative products interest of time, because just a little difficult to meet market expectations of sales and profits, so dependent on the customer's point of view and interests has become a disadvantage.

Product innovation and customer experience to provide first-hand information, which is involved in product innovation and customer business needs of the important reasons, but over-reliance on the customer experience, product innovation will improve the product, not only to create new solutions, limiting expansion of innovative thinking.

In order to avoid over-reliance on the customer and the negative effects, on the one hand much as possible to make different backgrounds and different needs of customers involved in product innovation, it also requires companies to use the customer's ability to innovate but also to give full play to their product innovation initiative.

(C resulting in the risk of confusion innovative team management
Involved in product innovation to bring customers the innovative management team, there are two: First, the R & D team to the customer involved in the question of identity, the second is the customer involved in the normal operation of the organization's interference. Against customers involved in product innovation point of view, "Customers often do not know what he wants, even if they know they can not tell." Thus, many Researchers refuse to customers involved in product innovation, preferring to do all the things themselves.

First of all, to advance a comprehensive inspection of each innovation project, consider the suitability of customers to participate. Some items may be particularly suited to the customer involved, and some projects and vice versa. Second, to establish the customer involved in product innovation platform, convenient customer participation, but also facilitate the internal customer information, experiences and knowledge sharing. Finally, in order to avoid misunderstanding between employees and customers, companies can implement a culture of innovation, the establishment of appropriate incentive system to increase the staff's willingness to cooperate with the external.

(D of key technologies leading to loss of business risk
When the customer involved in product innovation, the firm's key technologies involved in the process both from the loss, may also result from the loss of innovation, when the customer involved in the innovation process, the customer to the enterprise to contribute their knowledge and ideas, in exchange, the customer also related Technology companies want to know, once companies allow customers to obtain the relevant Technology, customer unauthorized use of relevant Technology or business competitors to sell this Technology, then the result will be disastrous. In addition, because customers and companies involved in product innovation So who has related to innovation but also the loss of key Technology companies and many suppliers and downstream enterprises to jointly develop the new product, have experienced intellectual property issues.

Product innovation must take into account the entire period of the loss of key technology enterprise risk between companies and customers can be certain intellectual property agreements signed in advance to avoid such risks, the agreement clearly set out in detail the sources of key technologies and innovations property attribution, of course, if the customer did not want to comply with it, no matter how good the agreement is not useful, therefore, choose to participate in product innovation to customers, they should try to choose an honest and trusted customers.

CONCLUSIONS
Both companies involved in product innovation and customer needs but also the needs of customers, the customer's unique needs, relationship value, experience, interests, values ​​and economic factors driving the four aspects of the customer to participate in product innovation. Enterprise customers the ability to take full advantage of the time of product innovation, product innovation but also attach importance to the customer the risks involved, first, choosing the right customers in product innovation, both truly integrated business and customer innovation, but also to avoid the business-critical technical loss and other issues. Second, companies can not lose their innovation initiative, only play to their ability to actively attract customers the ability to better product innovation and finally, from the corporate culture, technology and legal and other levels organize customer involvement in product innovation. innovative culture conducive to business integration capabilities and customer capabilities, while the technology platform will help customers facilitate the participation of law is involved in product innovation continue to expand the customer protection.

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