User innovation: a novel framework for studying animal innovation within a comparative context
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10071_2019_1303_ReferencePDF.pdf
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479.74 KB
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49d1ae269cda018bc74d72650c658197
Author(s)
Hopper, Lydia M
Torrance, Andrew W
Date Issued
September 4, 2019
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Abstract
Much work has been dedicated to defining and describing animal innovation. Despite this, efforts to compare human and animal innovation have been hindered by perceived fundamental differences between how, and why, humans and animals innovate. Furthermore, there is not a useful framework for comparisons across different taxa. Here, we provide an overview of the current understanding of human ‘user’ innovation, provide some examples of user innovation, and highlight the parallels between animal innovation and user innovation by humans. User innovation, put simply, is the process by which people invent to satisfy their own needs, not necessarily with the aim of distributing their invention, or marketing it for profit. Thus, it is much more closely aligned to the manner in which nonhuman animals innovate. Our intention is that this discussion will help to re-frame how we consider animal innovation and foster more direct comparisons between human and animal innovation, while propagating new avenues for research, both experimental and observational.
MIT Department
Sloan School of Management
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-019-01303-z
