Exploring the Ecosystems and Principles of Community Innovation
In this chapter, we explore some of the contemporary configurations of what we will refer to as community innovation. We probe the relevance of the phenomena by illustrating and comparing the digital ecosystems that surround some communities that innovate together in a world of social media and Web 2.0 tools. In particular, two cases are used to illustrate the arguments: a collective venture for designing electric car conversion kits (eCars – Now!) and a looser collective representing the development ties of LEGO® user groups with the firm. These cases are presented through their existing ecosystem and communication tools and the ways in which their stories challenge linear and individualistic models of innovation. We argue that, for these communities, configuring and constructing an appropriate set of communication tools and new media seem critical in negotiating a place for themselves between grassroots cultural innovation and corporate control. In doing this, we also suggest some social principles that drive community innovation practices, as they are present through our examples.