Lars Bo Jeppesen

Lars Bo Jeppsen
Associate professor , ph.d
Lars Bo Jeppesen

Department of Innovation and Organizational Economics

Kilevej 14A, 3. floor, DK 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark

Tel.: +45 3815 2948
E-mail: lbj.ino@cbs.dk



Link to this homepage: uk.cbs.dk/staff/lbj


Research Interest

My research focuses on search, collaboration and innovation in a world of distributed knowledge. My primary interest is management of innovation, and Internet-based innovation activities in particular. I have examined distributed innovation processes and their impact on organizations. Core questions of this research are how organizations gain access to distributed sources of innovation and why and when it may make sense for them to do so.

Specifically I have studied how organizations collaborate with innovative individuals and communities via online technologies and how they become able to access to distributed sources of innovation. In a number of articles I have looked at how firms establish and maintain fruitful relations with innovative users located in user communities and how they can adjust their business models to deal effectively with users as a source of innovation.

Presently, I am developing a new agenda within the theme of distributed innovation. It examines the processes involved in solving hard scientific and technical problems by posting them as innovation contests to potential solvers via the Internet. This method of scientific and technical problem solving is defined as "broadcast search". The findings suggest the existence of an abundance of tucked-away solutions “looking” for problems to solve.

My teaching on innovation management deals with the collaborative element of innovation, methods that firm can adopt to work more effectively with their external sources of innovation.

Primary research areas

  • Management of Innovation and Technology
  • Economic Organzation
  • User Behavior


Administrative functions

Director of Danish User-Centered Innovation Lab



Selected publications

Articles in Refereed Journals

Jeppesen, L.B. and Lakhani, K.R., Marginality and Problem Solving Effectiveness in Broadcast Search, Organization Science, Forthcoming.

Jeppesen, L.B. and Laursen K., Making Consumer Knowledge Available and Useful: the Role of Lead users in Knowledge Sharing, Research Policy, Forthcoming.

Lakhani, K.R. and L.B Jeppesen: (2007) Getting Unusual Suspects to Solve R&D Puzzles. Forethought. Harvard Business Review 85, no. 5 (May)

Jeppesen, L.B. and Frederiksen, L.: (2006) Why do User Contribute to Firm-hosted User Communities? The Case of Computer Controlled Music Instruments. Organization Science. 17: 45-63.

Jeppesen, L.B: (2005) User Toolkits for Innovation: Consumers Support Each Other. Journal of Product Innovation Management. 22 (4) 347-363.

Jeppesen, L.B. and Molin, M.J.: (2003) Consumers as Co-developers: Learning and Innovation Outside the Firm. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management 15 (3) 363-84. http://ep.lib.cbs.dk/paper/ISBN/8778690897

Articles in books

Nishiyama, K. and L.B. Jeppesen; Creating Market Place for User Innovation: In (eds) Sunagawa K., Heung-wah Wong, D. and Sugiura M.; Consumer-driven Urban Marketplaces and Communities on Move. Reinvention of Urban Bazaars and its Place Bound Dynamics, University of Hong Kong Press, Hong Kong.

Jeppesen, L.B. and Molin, M.J.: (2004) Learning in Innovative Consumer Communities : In (eds) Herstatt, C., and Sander, J., Produktentwicklung mit Virtuellen Communities. Gabler Publishing, Wiesbaden.

Selected Working Papers

L.B. Jeppesen (with Karim R. Lakhani, Peter A. Lohse Jill A. Panetta), (2006) The Value of Openness in Scientific Problem Solving. http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/07-050.pdf

Jeppesen, L.B., (2001) Making Consumer Knowledge and Available, Druid working paper.

Phd. Dissertation

Jeppesen, L.B., (2004) Organizing Consumer Innovation - a product development strategy that is based on online communities and allows some firms to benefit from a distributed process of innovation by consumers. Ph.d.serie, nr.2004-4, Samfundslitteratur, København, 2004 , 175 s.



Last updated by J. Petur Joensen 18/09/2009