専門家ユーザーによるイノベーションへの関与と障壁

― 医師を対象とした実証分析 ―

抄録

　This study examines obstacles faced by professionals who participate in activities related to innovations in their professions, an area that has not been thoroughly explored in prior studies on user innovation. While many user innovation studies concentrate on hobbyist users who innovate as an extension of their hobbies, less attention has been paid to professional users who use products in their professional roles and leverage their expertise to develop those products.

　Like hobbyists, professional users engage in innovation activities of their own volition. However, they must balance these activities in the context of their primary professional responsibilities. This suggests that their primary employment and organizational context may impact their participation in innovation. This study investigates the obstacles that may impede professionals from becoming involved in innovation, especially given their organizations’ influence on this involvement.

　This study surveys 81 doctors affiliated with a university hospital and related hospitals. Using an exploratory factor analysis, we identify three main barriers to doctors’ involvement in innovation: lack of recognition from peers, limited resources such as time, and a mismatch with their areas of expertise. A regression analysis using the Tobit model reveals that a scarcity of resources significantly hampers doctors’ involvement in innovation activities, indicating that the way doctors’ work responsibilities are allocated, which is largely controlled by their departments, influences their level of engagement in innovation.

　The key theoretical contributions of this study are in identifying barriers to doctors’ participation in innovation activities and demonstrating how organizational factors affect individual involvement. Given that organizational task assignments greatly affect the amount of time available to doctors who want to pursue innovation activities, their organizations clearly influence the extent of their involvement in such activities. Contrary to prior studies that presumes users have ample autonomy, our findings indicate that organizational constraints limit professional users’ involvement in innovation. The insights gleaned from this study are crucial for future research on user innovation, emphasizing the importance of organizational dynamics in understanding how professionals engage in innovation activities.