What Defines a Prosumer? An Insight in Participative Consumer Behaviour.

In the last decade there has been a growing academic interest in different forms of prosumer collaboration. Prosumers are everywhere and have the power to create value for themselves and for their peers, but especially for businesses in an open innovation approach. Thus, they are becoming an extremely important external partner in delivering added value in a competitive environment. Studies show that by integrating these new active consumers in new product or service development processes, firms and institutions can achieve a wide range of benefits such as: the development of products that match and satisfy customers' needs, the design, improvement and marketing promotion of new services and effective governmental campaigns. But how to address these new consumers, how to engage them in active participation for corporate innovation and effective leadership? Through an extensive literature analysis, the present paper aims to understand what defines a prosumer and what empowers consumers to participate and co-create value with and for an organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]