In this book, Eric von Hippel, author of the influential Democratizing Innovation, integrates new theory and research findings into the framework of a "free innovation paradigm." Free innovation, as he defines it, involves innovations developed by consumers who are self-rewarded for their efforts, and who give their designs away "for free." It is an inherently simple grassroots innovation process, unencumbered by compensated transactions and intellectual property rights.Free innovation is already widespread in national economies and is steadily increasing in both scale and scope. Today, tens of millions of consumers are collectively spending tens of billions of dollars annually on innovation development. However, because free innovations are developed during consumers' unpaid, discretionary time and are given away rather than sold, their collective impact and value have until very recently been hidden from view. This has caused researchers, governments, and firms to focus too much on the Schumpeterian idea of innovation as a producer-dominated activity.Free innovation has both advantages and drawbacks. Because free innovators are self-rewarded by such factors as personal utility, learning, and fun, they often pioneer new areas before producers see commercial potential. At the same time, because they give away their innovations, free innovators generally have very little incentive to invest in diffusing what they create, which reduces the social value of their efforts.The best solution, von Hippel and his colleagues argue, is a division of labor between free innovators and producers, enabling each to do what they do best. The result will be both increased producer profits and increased social welfare—a gain for all.

Product Description: The Eastern States Agricultural and Industrial Exposition was founded more than a century ago to "promote the agricultural and industrial development of the eastern states." Held at the fairgrounds in West Springfield, Massachusetts, the inaugural event was the National Dairy Show in 1916, followed by what would become known as "The Big E," the combined "state fair" of the six New England states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont...read more

Product Description: “Built at the dawn of the American Revolution, the one-man wooden submersible, its creation, and its attacks on the Royal Navy in New York harbor is a story still surrounded in mystery. In this much anticipated book, Roy Manstan and Frederic Frese bring the story of Bushnell’s revolutionary underwater machine to life...read more

Product Description: Some of the greatest discoveries and inventions have stemmed from doubt. Read about some of the most awe-inspiring inventions in this planner. Be a “doubting Thomas” as you plan ahead.

Product Description: I have lived and worked twenty-five years in Japan and every look, breath and step is unique and somehow magical. This JAPAN PRESS MAGAZINE won’t live up to that very lofty standard in each page, but we will try. Our publishing team is world-class and comprised of ‘old Japan hands’...read more

Product Description: Patentes Increíbles está inspirado en quien, posiblemente, haya sido uno de los inventores más prolíficos de la Historia, y también uno de mis héroes de la infancia: Wile E. Coyote, más conocido como el Coyote. Un inventor, un emprendedor que, aunque nunca patentaba ninguno de sus inventos, no dejaba de producir invenciones a cual más creativa...read more

Product Description: A true story of development of the modern smart phone, told by the inventor himself. Today’s iPhones and Androids were not born out of thin air; all their key elements were introduced years earlier by MyOrigo, a small European tech startup...read more

Product Description: This book is for anybody wanting to make a wireless monitoring or surveillance device. It is very detailed research and knowledge to bless anyone who reads it. It is actually a thesis. The wireless FM bug is a sensitive miniature very high FM wireless microphone transmitter of the type “Wide Band Frequency Modulation Wireless Microphone (WBFMWM)”...read more