Co‐Design at the Boundary: Understanding the Dynamics of Open Innovation Between Companies and Communities

Abstract

For over two decades, firms have built platforms and engaged open innovation communities to improve and customize their products through widened participation in the design process. While the benefits of involving those outside a firm as co‐designers have been well described, how co‐design processes unfold over time at the boundary between those in an organization and an open online community remains poorly understood. Using the theoretical lens of boundary work and a five‐year ethnographic study with a firm that pioneered co‐design in the automotive industry, we develop a theoretical model that shows how and why co‐design between the firm and its open online community evolved over time. We describe three different types of co‐design (intimate, instrumental, and limited co‐design) and show how these are intertwined with existing types of boundary work (collaborative, configurational, and competitive boundary work). Importantly, we unravel the dynamic shifts between different types of co‐design and associated boundary work, showing the driving forces that precede shifts. Our research extends the boundary work literature by proposing forces that prompt organizations to shift between types of boundary work, illustrating how these forces are tied to characteristics of the environment and open community and are integral to the work of the organization. More broadly, this study contributes new insight into the temporal evolution of design collaboration between organizations and online communities.