Market development in practice: A case study of user‐initiated product innovation

User‐initiated innovation refers to the inauguration of new industrial processes and products by their users rather than by manufacturers. The marketing literature has recently been enhanced by the reconceptualisation of industrial innovation to include the possibility of this customer‐active approach. But the accounts of customer‐active innovation which have so far appeared confine the role of the user to the development of internally‐applied process innovations, leaving their wider commercial exploitation entirely to manufacturers. This article presents a case study of the development of flexible manufacturing systems in a major British company and demonstrates the importance of recognising the active role of users in product innovation.