Pluralization and Democratization of Innovation Sources. the Relation between Producers and Users.

The last twenty years have seen the rise of a third way to produce innovation, characterized by a pluralization and decentralization of sources of innovation. This mode outlines a form of democratization based on the relationship between producers and users that is defined as a “private collective innovation model. Protagonists are often non-economic private subjects who, through a cooperative exchange in global learning process, contribute to the creation of an innovation heritage available to everyone, which may constitute a public or collective good. On the base of literature and empirical research on digital entrepreneurs, the paper will provide a framework for this new model, describing characteristics and advantages for SME, big companies and local economy.

The aim of this paper is to highlight how models of innovation in the ICT sector, strongly marked by open and cooperative relationships are likely to promote an appropriation and a widespread use of ICT through the involvement and participation of a variety of social actors. Starting from the relationship established between the technologies and its use it could become possible to think of appropriate ICT policies that facilitate the interconnections between people, ideas and resources in different contexts of action. In fact, many innovation policies, including the European ones, are already based on the assumption that promoting innovative processes requires not only an increment of investments in enterprise activities but also an increasing process of mutual involvement of enterprises, public players, research centers and users. This line of actions goes beyond the well-known triple helix models .In fact the massive entry of innovative collective actors suggests the need to add a fourth helix, which is activated by individual involved in innovative activities for both ethical or utilitarian reasons .