12 Books on Crowdsourcing & Open Innovation - Part 1

Although blogs and online journals are much faster to report on the latest developments, books can provide an interesting synthesis of overall trends and visionary insights. As some books on the subject definitely qualify as must reads, I’ve put together a list of the 12 most compelling books about crowdsourcing and open innovation.

1. Outside Innovation: How Your Customers Will Co-Design Your Company’s Future
   - by Patricia B. Seybold
   In Outside Innovation, bestselling author Seybold taps her close relationship with dozens of high–innovation companies to reveal the untold strategy behind the trendsetters and the next HUGE leap forward in customer strategy. Seybold shows that companies that are dominating their category and staying ahead of the pack are collaborating at every level of their business with their customers.
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2. Motivation in Open Innovation
   - by Robert Motzek
   Robert Motzek’s study investigates the motivational profiles of user innovators from a manufacturer’s point of view, focusing on lead users and tool kit users. The insightful analysis is supported by two exploratory case studies of Spreadshirt and Threadless.
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3. Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology
   -by Henry Chesbrough
   A new paradigm for managing corporate research and bringing new technologies to market. Chesbrough’s sophisticated but highly readable discussion of these complex issues will give managers much food for thought.
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4. The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More
   - by Chris Anderson
   In The Long Tail, Chris Anderson offers a visionary look at the future of business and common culture. The long-tail phenomenon, he argues, will “re-shape our understanding of what people actually want to watch” (or read, etc.).

The other books will be listed in parts 2 and 3 of this post. When I can find the time, I’ll discuss some books in greater detail.

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