Customer as an innovator: creativity and open innovations in enterprise development

Abstract

The aim of the article is to present the concept and features of a creative enterprise and to identify the client not only as a consumer of goods and services but primarily as an engaged innovator who contributes to the development of the enterprise's innovation potential. It is established that creativity is perceived through the lens of the final result of the process, which leads to the creation of a product that a certain group of people considers new and useful at a specific time. Another context is to see the source of creativity, i.e., the person or group of individuals (employees, teams of employees, individual clients, informal groups of enthusiasts, etc.) and their field of functioning. These components are part of the 4P creativity model: Person, Process, Press (Place), and Product. It has been proven that a creative organization is dynamic, mobile, uses information and communication technologies, and produces products that meet customer expectations. The goal of a creative organization is to develop innovation potential, i.e., the ability of the organization to produce, disseminate, and consume innovations. The potential of a creative organization is determined by internal innovation potential and access to external sources of innovation. The catalog of external sources of innovation includes: services of inventors who have patented a given solution, services of companies involved in the development of innovation development projects on a commercial basis, the scientific sector: universities, research centers, and other scientific units. In the context of the presented research, an important external source of innovation is customers. It is substantiated that open innovations oriented towards customers require new solutions both in managing customer relations and in the communication channels used. They require new management practices, particularly in motivation and knowledge management. The concept of customer-oriented open innovations is advisable for small and medium-sized enterprises. The presented argumentation confirms the validity of the thesis about the positive impact of innovations proposed by consumers on strengthening competitive positions and developing creative organizations.