CGIP: Managing Consumer-Generated Intellectual Property. (August 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Berthon, Pierre; Pitt, Leyland; Kietzmann, Jan; McCarthy, Ian P.
• Is Part Of: California management review. Volume 57:Number 4(2015)
• Page Start: 43
• Page End: 62
• Publication Date: 2015-08
• Subjects: Consumer Behavior -- Intellectual Property -- Innovation Management New Product Management -- Competitive Advantage -- Consumers -- Product Design; Industrial management -- Periodicals; Industrial management; Management; Bedrijfseconomie; Periodicals; 658.005
• DOI: 10.1525/cmr.2015.57.4.43
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0008-1256

Abstract

Two related trends characterize the recent past: value propositions are migrating from the physical to the informational, and value creation is shifting from firms to consumers. These two trends meet in the phenomenon of "consumer-generated intellectual property" (CGIP). This article addresses the question: "How should firms manage the intellectual property that their customers create?" It explores how CGIP presents important dilemmas for managers and argues that consumers' "intellectual property" should not be leveraged at the expense of their "emotional property." It integrates these perspectives into a diagnostic framework and discusses eight strategies for firms to manage CGIP.