Beucker, S. & Fichter, K. (2012). Self-organizing Networks and Radical Innovations – The Emerging Phenomenon of Innovation Communities, Proceedings of XXIII ISPIM Conference: Action for Innovation: Innovating from Experience, Barcelona, Spain 17-20 June 2012, Worsley, Manchester.

Self-organizing networks have become the major forces behind complex technologies and radical innovation. The growing need for cooperation to ensure innovation success calls for a broader understanding of what makes innovation projects successful and requires new concepts. The study introduces the concept of „innovation communities“, defining them as informal networks of like-minded individuals who act as innovation promotors or champions. These key actors can come from various companies and organizations and team up in a project-related fashion, jointly promoting an innovation, product or idea either on one or across different levels of an innovation system.