Innovations in Game-based Learning: How Lead Users Created Minecraft: Education Edition

Abstract

Over the past four decades, myriad studies have shown that lead users are a significant source of major innovations in various industries. Further, studies have shown that innovations by lead users have resulted in economic benefits to firms while also satisfying the needs and improving the lives of users. With a long-standing and well-established body of evidence, it would be easy to assume that industry leaders would have adopted lead user methods widely. However, Bradonjic et al. (2019) found that, in a survey of 1500 key decision-makers, a substantial number still underestimate the frequency and value of lead user innovations.

In order to better understand how firms work with lead users, I apply lead user research methods to the game-based learning (GBL) market to determine if lead users play a major role in developing functionally significant innovations in a specific GBL product, Minecraft: Education Edition. I find that lead users (teachers) are in fact the originators of Minecraft: Education Edition itself, as well as originators of 90% of significant, functionally novel innovations added to this game over time. In contrast, and in line with existing research findings, producers are found to be the developers of 100% of the dimension-of-merit innovations – innovations that allow product users to perform user-pioneered functions “better.”

The fact that lead users are an important source of innovations in the GBL field suggests that it would be valuable for producers to learn to manage and support this valuable source of innovations as effectively as possible. In a concluding section, I suggest how game producers can align their innovation processes to both support and learn from lead user innovation more effectively than is often the case today.