Consumer user innovation in Korea: an international comparison and policy implications

This study examines the extent to which individual consumers develop and share userinnovations in Korea, extending previous studies of consumer innovation activitiesundertaken in advanced countries. Using a research method similar to those used in priorstudies, this study finds that about 1.5% of adult consumers have generated innovations fortheir own use during the past three years, and 21.9% of consumer innovators share theirinnovations with other consumers or firms. Consumers who are male, working, and highlyeducated are more likely to generate innovations. Moreover, consumer innovators tend toshare their innovations, when they are young and participate in community activities andwhen their innovations have higher values to others. The total amount of innovationexpenditure by consumers exceeds 0.34 billion US dollars, which accounts for 4.4% of theR&D investment of Korean firms in the consumer goods sector. Although the proportion ofconsumer user innovators in Korea is relatively lower than that found in advanced countries,the number of consumers who generate innovations and their innovation expenditures arefar from being negligible. As a result, this study suggests a few government policies toencourage and facilitate development, diffusion, and commercialisation of consumerinnovations in late industrialising contexts, including Korea.