Katharina Greve attended the 25th Innovation and Product Development Management Conference (IPDMC) at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Portugal.

Katharina Greve attended the 25^th Innovation and Product Development Management Conference (IPDMC) at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Portugal. The conference paper ‘Co-creation in Practice: Objectives and Outcomes’, which Katharina presented at the conference, is co-authored by Dr Veronica Martinez and Prof Andy Neely.

The study identifies different types of co-creation project objectives that companies pursue at JOSEPHS® - a physical living laboratory. Located in the city centre of Nuremberg in Germany, JOSEPHS® is open to the public and enables the active involvement of users in the development, introduction and commercialisation of new services and products. The rotating themes in the living lab allow for a variety of innovation projects to be carried out. The study also reports the realised co-creation outcomes of these projects, comparing them with initial objectives. Seven categories of project objectives and eight categories of outcomes are identified. The study reveals that the vast majority of companies not only meet their initial expectations, but more than half of them also achieve unexpected, additional project outcomes. The findings of the study are of particular relevance to living lab facilitators and companies. For facilitators, it is important to understand the objectives behind a company’s co-creation project to be able to tailor the facilitation service to its needs. Furthermore, evaluating the project success by examining the congruence or discrepancy between planned objectives and outcomes helps to assess the success of the living lab and improve current living lab operations. Finally, comparing project objectives to realised outcomes allows companies to learn from their experience and adjust their actions and expectations in future co-creation projects.

Katharina’s presentation at the 25^th IPDMC offered insights into two areas of ‘The 5Ps for co-creation facilitation in living labs’ framework which presents the conditions to allow for systematic and tailored facilitation services.