MANAGING SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION WITH A USER COMMUNITY TOOLKIT 195

Managing Sustainable Innovation

with a User Community Toolkit: The
Case of the Video Game Trackmania
Guy Parmentier and Romain Gandia

Today, innovating with a user community seems an effective strategy for developing a firm’s
innovation capacity. However, short-term benefits from this collaboration are no longer suf-
ficient, and firms are now looking to develop a sustainable relationship with users, to maintain
sustainable innovation. This study furthers our understanding of the way in which a user
toolkit connected to a community serves to manage innovation of an existing product or
service. The literature provides a limited understanding of the role of a user toolkit in the
management of a sustainable innovation approach in firms. The research is based on a longi-
tudinal case study of the video game Trackmania, which has an integrated toolkit connected to
a large and active user community. Results confirm the crucial role of the toolkit in the
construction, control and maintenance of a sustainable innovative approach with a user com-
munity. From the innovation perspective, the toolkit can be considered as a means of manag-
ing the boundary between the firm and the user community, because it enables the community
to structure itself as a multi-sided platform, where all categories of users participate in value
creation. Finally, we identify four modalities for managing sustainable innovation with a user
community toolkit.

Introduction munities focuses on short-term cause and

effect, and only explores the sustainable dimen-

M ore and more firms rely on communities

of users to design new products and serv-
ices. These firms use Internet technologies such
sion in a limited way (Bogers, Afuah & Bastian,
2010). To our knowledge, little research
addresses the sustainable link between the firm
as forums and social networks to provide con- and the user community, particularly from an
sumers with the means not only to share infor- innovation perspective. The adoption of a sus-
mation but also to design new content and tainable vision raises many questions: How can
functionalities for their products and services. a company maintain a user community in a
They thus draw on these communities for new process of sustainable innovation? How does a
sources of innovation and renew their own firm support sustainable user motivation to
innovative capabilities. However, profiting innovate and yet retain the ability to appropri-
from a user community requires the establish- ate user contributions? Is it possible to maintain
ment of two elements: (1) mechanisms of moti- a sustainable business model focusing on inno-
vation to encourage users to innovate, and (2) vative users? These questions lead us to con-
private or collective appropriation models of sider the tools available to firms for managing
innovation to integrate user contributions. In innovation within a user community. In this
the literature, the combination of these two context, research on toolkits for innovation can
elements contributes to creating a business provide answers to these questions.
model focused on the user, which allows the User toolkits for innovation consist of a set
firm to consider a user community as a strategic of user-friendly tools which enable users to
asset (Hienerth et al., 2012). However, sustain- develop new products for themselves. The
able maintenance of such a model remains a simplest ones enable users to personalize the
problem that needs to be solved. The majority product according to their own tastes, such as,
of theoretical contributions concerning innova- for instance, on the NikeID website (nikei-
tion management mechanisms for user com- d.nike.com), while the most elaborate kits

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10.1111/caim.12021
196 CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT

provide tools for creating new products, as on service who have a relationship consisting of
the Designbyme website (designbyme.lego. trading, sharing and disseminating informa-
com). This toolkit modality allows firms to tion and knowledge about that product or
access ideas for new products or new product service, or other products based on it. When
functions that have been discussed and evalu- they use toolkits for innovation, they become
ated by users. Several researchers have already creation communities (Sawhney & Prandelli,
studied the advantages of a user toolkit for 2000), i.e., they focus on business creation
innovation in an innovation process (Von and innovation around a firm’s product and
Hippel, 2001; Von Hippel & Katz, 2002), the service. To stimulate users to innovate and
types of users of these tools (Jeppesen & profit from their creativity, firms use two main
Molin, 2003; Prügl & Schreier, 2006), and the management modalities: motivation mecha-
role of user feedback in new product design nisms and appropriation models.
(Jeppesen, 2005; Jeppesen & Frederiksen, 2006;
Franke, Keinz & Schreier, 2008). However, few
Motivation Mechanisms for Innovating
studies have focused on the way a toolkit can
sustain long-term innovation by a user com- These communities encompass very dense
munity. This research addresses the following social networks involving users with diverse
question: How do toolkits participate in man- and heterogeneous competencies. The pres-
agement of sustainable innovation with a user ence of users with extensive knowledge of the
community? product or service is indispensable for gener-
To answer this question, we conducted a ating innovations (Jeppesen & Molin, 2003)
longitudinal case study of the video game and providing support between users
Trackmania, which has an integrated toolkit (Lakhani & von Hippel, 2003; Franke, Keinz &
connected to a large and active user commu- Schreier, 2008). The most active individuals in
nity. The producer of the game, Nadeo, is a these communities have a lead user profile
small firm which develops and publishes (Morrison, Roberts & von Hippel, 2000;
sports games. Trackmania’s integrated toolkit Franke & Shah, 2003), and they create new
enables players to build their own car racing content and functionalities that can meet other
environments and to transform the game into users’ needs (Prügl & Schreier, 2006). These
an on-line racing server. This type of toolkit community members are generally highly
organizes interactions within the user commu- motivated by the prospect of improvements to
nity and between the community and the firm, the focal product or service. They may also be
facilitates production and exchange of innova- motivated by a need for social recognition and
tions, and enhances the utility of the innova- career prospects that may appear in recogni-
tive product and service for all user categories. tion of their contributions (Shah, 2006). These
Based on this study, we show that a commu- factors of intrinsic motivation refer to a desire
nity using a user toolkit is structured as a to fulfil one’s own needs and expectations in
multi-sided platform, enabling it to simultane- relation to a product or service (Lakhani &
ously manage sustainable innovation and com- von Hippel, 2003). This is why community
munity life. members are willing to share in the develop-
In the first part of this paper, we review the ment, testing, translation, writing of documen-
concept of user innovation with a user commu- tation, and user support, as a function of their
nity. We describe how the user community’s competencies (Franke & von Hippel, 2003; Von
toolkit manages innovation with motivation Krogh, Spaeth & Lakhani, 2003). In addition,
mechanisms and appropriation models. We firms may resort to extrinsic motivation
then set out our qualitative methodology and mechanisms to encourage users to innovate,
the results of our longitudinal case study in the such as recognition by the firm (Jeppesen &
second and third parts. In the fourth part we Frederiksen, 2006), emulation, peer evaluation
discuss the consequences of the introduction (Hertel, Niedner & Herrmann, 2003) and
of this type of toolkit on the management of monetary incentives. However, sustaining this
user innovation. motivation requires extensive resources and
skill, regular community monitoring and
renewed motivation mechanisms over time.
Theoretical Framework:
Management of Innovation via a Appropriation Models for Innovation
User Community Toolkit Appropriating the benefits of user community
innovation can be complicated for firms.
Innovation by a User Community Indeed, sharing innovations prevents firms
In this article, we define ‘communities of from using classical mechanisms of control
users’ as a group of users of a product or and appropriation (Franke & Shah, 2003).

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MANAGING SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION WITH A USER COMMUNITY TOOLKIT 197

Instead, they have to align their strategies with ment of a maximum of users without being
the community and integrate users’ input directly involved in the life of the community,
into their innovation process (Dahlander & and to orient users toward creations and inno-
Magnusson, 2008) using suitable appropria- vations that are of value to both the community
tion models. In the literature, there are private and the company. From this perspective, the
and collective models. Private models are firm may resort to use of a toolkit, which acts
based on the capture of user innovation as as an intermediate object between the firm and
an idea (e.g., crowd-sourcing) or a finished the user community. We believe that this
product (e.g., open-source) (West & Gallagher, toolkit can help a firm manage sustainable
2006). Here, user innovation can be commer- innovation with a user community.
cialized by firms if the users want to sell
licenses and if they cater to a sufficiently broad User Toolkits for Innovation
niche (Shah & Tripsas, 2004). In other cases,
A User toolkit for innovation consists of a set of
users may even create firms to commercialize
user-friendly design tools that enable users to
their innovations (Hienerth, 2006; Dahlander &
be involved in product design, by providing
Magnusson, 2008). However, appropriation is
them with specific tools for the creation and
difficult and expensive, because it may lead to
personalization of content and functionalities
intellectual property conflicts if the firm does
(Von Hippel & Katz, 2002). It is a design inter-
not obtain consent from the user innovator
face that facilitates learning by trial and error
(Pisano & Teece, 2007). Collaborative models
and direct visualization of the result. A
are based on co-creation and co-innovation
problem can thus be formatted and solved
through a collaborative platform (Jeppesen &
using the same application. Von Hippel and
Frederiksen, 2006) or a toolkit for innovation
Katz define five characteristics that toolkits
(Von Hippel & Katz, 2002). Under these condi-
should have if they are to favour innovation by
tions, appropriation by the firm may be legiti-
the user (Von Hippel, 2001): the possibility of
mate if the user community is federated
learning by doing via trial and error; an appro-
around an idea that belongs to the firm
priate solution space; the availability of librar-
(Jeppesen & Frederiksen, 2006). But intellec-
ies of models to ensure that users do not have
tual property problems may still appear and
to start from scratch; user-friendly tools; and
eventually lead to conflicts between the firm
the direct transfer of users’ designs to produc-
and its users (Dahlander & Magnusson, 2005).
tion, without translation. The user toolkit for
From a sustainable perspective, it is vital to
innovation requires no particular know-how;
avoid conflict to maintain optimum appropria-
through a gradual learning process, it allows
tion capacity. Although they enhance innova-
the emergence of users’ needs and their direct
tion, the activities of user communities are,
formalizations in products and services.
nonetheless, difficult to align over the long
The least elaborate toolkits have limited per-
term with a firm’s constraints and strategies.
sonalization functionalities that deliver prod-
ucts adapted to each consumer, rapidly and
Limits of a Sustainable Approach at limited additional cost. Configurators of
e-commerce, such as the Dell website, offer a
There are other problems with a sustainable
space with limited and predetermined choices.
approach that relate to the creation of a com-
The more complex toolkits make design tools
munity. Users contribute when the community
and not simply configurators available to
proposes sufficient quantity and quality con-
users. They afford access to a vast range of
tributions (Wiertz & de Ruyter, 2007). Usually,
options and to functionalities that stimulate
a community initially relies on a core of lead
user creativity, enabling them to find new
users (Morrison, Roberts & von Hippel, 2000;
solutions to already identified problems, and
Jeppesen & Frederiksen, 2006) but its develop-
to identify new problems.
ment subsequently requires the involvement
of all the other users, in a multitude of activi-
A User Community’s Toolkit for Innovation
ties that create value (Schau, Muniz &
Arnould, 2009). In a sustainable approach, The user toolkit for innovation defined by Von
managing this involvement and coordination Hippel focuses on the isolated user whose
between users becomes complex and increases needs are directly materialized in the results of
as the community grows and develops. There his or her personalization or creations. User
are, nevertheless, few highly active members innovation in open source communities
and it is difficult to maintain their contribu- shows, however, that users build dense rela-
tions over time (Nov, Naaman & Chen, 2010). tionships between themselves to co-design
The sustainable management of innovation new software together. Such virtual environ-
with a community of users is therefore tricky. ments are conducive to high quality and
The firm’s challenge is to facilitate the involve- increase the fluidity of interactions, thereby

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198 CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT

Firm Toolkit User

community
Motivation mechanisms

Innovation

Appropriation models

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework

having a strong impact on knowledge creation shown that this element facilitates manage-
and the community’s innovativeness (Faraj, ment of a user community. In the same vein as
Jarvenpaa & Majchrzak, 2011; Frey & Lüthje, these previous studies, the aim of the present
2011). In these communities, the users’ crea- article is to understand how a user community
tions and innovations are discussed, adjusted toolkit serves to manage sustainable innova-
and renegotiated by means of virtual tools that tion by users, while at the same time optimiz-
facilitate a cycle of design by trial and error ing appropriation and user involvement. Our
(Thomke, 1998). conceptual framework is synthesized in
Toolkit use in a community supports inno- Figure 1.
vation and increases the value of users’ crea- In the following sections, based on the lon-
tions in terms of meeting needs, propensity to gitudinal case study of the game Trackmania,
pay and intention to buy (Franke, Keinz & we describe the characteristics of this type of
Schreier, 2008). A user toolkit in a community toolkit and the way in which the community is
helps the firm orient its development to structured with a user community toolkit for
improve its product (Prügl & Schreier, 2006). innovation.
Thus the toolkit and innovations issuing from
a user community form an innovation system
based on community and firm cooperation Methodology and Field
and interaction. To determine the role of the
innovation toolkit in this system, we need to Our research is based on a longitudinal single
examine the users’ creative and innovative case study (Yin, 1984). The longitudinal study
activities, as well as their relation with the is well suited to understanding the dynamics
firm’s innovation process. of an action over time (here, sustainable inno-
For convenience, we use the term ‘user com- vation by a user community), because it can
munity toolkit’ to denote a user toolkit for collect data by integrating historical and con-
innovation in user communities. This toolkit textual dimensions (Miles & Huberman, 1994).
has the five characteristics defined by Von We chose to study a single firm to explore the
Hippel, as well as the principle of direct con- issue in depth, by multiplying both internal
nection with a user community. Firms propose and external data sources. We present below
toolkits to these communities to organize justification for the case and the method of
idea contests (Piller & Walcher, 2006; Ebner, collecting and analyzing the data.
Leimeister & Krcmar, 2009; Hutter et al., 2011),
Case Selection
to design new products (Füller & Matzler,
2007), or to adapt their products to their The game Trackmania is published by Nadeo, a
clients’ particular needs (Berger & Piller, 2003; small producer of PC games which develops
Piller & Kumar, 2006). Research has focused and publishes sports games. The case study
on the profiles of users of these tools (Jeppesen lasted for five years, spanning the publication
& Molin, 2003; Jeppesen & Frederiksen, 2006; of the first version of the game to the fourth
Prügl & Schreier, 2006), the role of information version. Trackmania was chosen because the
and support given by users (Franke, Keinz & game has benefited from many user innova-
Schreier, 2008), and the impact of the use of tions issuing from a highly active community
the toolkit on the demand for and value of (3,000,000 accounts, 45,000 players registered
innovations (Franke & Piller, 2004; Prügl & on all official forums, and over 100 websites
Schreier, 2006; Franke, Keinz & Schreier, 2008). related to the game). Moreover, since its intro-
However, these studies provide little informa- duction, the game has had an integrated
tion on the ability of a firm to maintain and toolkit with all the characteristics defined by
develop sustainable innovation with users Von Hippel in which players have access to a
through toolkit use. Nevertheless, it has been set of user-friendly tools with a direct transfer

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MANAGING SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION WITH A USER COMMUNITY TOOLKIT 199

of the users’ creation to the game and a vast Their comments and remarks helped complete
library of models. Hence, since this is an the chronological case history.
on-line game with a toolkit, used by a large
user community over a long period of time, Data Analysis
the case study affords the possibility of study- Data from the interviews were processed using
ing management of sustainable innovation the ATLAS.ti software to group together the
with a user community toolkit. In this respect, conversation contents by category: creation
Trackmania constitutes a typical case of an practices, innovation practices, game practices,
active community using a toolkit for innova- practices around the game, relations with the
tion, with creations ranging from straightfor- other players, relations with the firm, opinions
ward customization of cars and tracks, to the on changes in the game. For theoretical pur-
creation of completely new tracks that spawn poses, the coding was based on operations of
new ways of playing. categorization and interpretation of the quali-
tative data (Miles & Huberman, 1994). The first
Data Collection categories for analysis were taken from the
theoretical framework. Using these categories,
We focus on monitoring the life of the commu- information was compiled into a chronological
nity, on the users’ creative and innovative case study, focused on user activities in the
activities, and on the evolution of the game innovation process and on the history of the
and of its innovation toolkit. As regards longi- community (i.e., birth and evolution). This
tudinality, all changes to the game have been chronological case was then analysed to find
monitored between 2004 and 2008. The direc- theoretical patterns. Relations were identified
tor of Nadeo was interviewed three times between the users’ innovation activities and
(2005, 2006, 2008) on his strategy and his rela- the characteristics of the innovation toolkit.
tions with players. Furthermore, 18 players These were then discussed with the general
who were heavily involved in the community manager of the firm and the leader of the com-
were interviewed between 2006 and 2007 con- munity. Their comments and additional infor-
cerning their motivations and practices in and mation enabled us to strengthen our analysis.
around the game. We selected those players
who were most deeply involved on the advice
of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who who
was in constant contact with the community
Trackmania’s User Toolkit to
via the forum, and by selecting those who con- Manage Sustainable Innovation
tributed most on the game’s official forum
(i.e., had the highest number of posts). Finally, We present the Trackmania case study in three
each player recommended other players to parts. First, we present the game Trackmania in
interview. The collection of data through inter- a descriptive manner. Then, we present the
views ceased when the respondents had no game evolution, tools and user community in
new input. a chronological manner. We conclude with a
To complement the interview data, a longi- discussion of the role of the toolkit on the crea-
tudinal documentary research was conducted tive and innovative activities of users.
on the communities’ websites and in the spe-
cialized press. The website TMX Track pro-
The Game Trackmania
vided statistics of its deposits (uploads) in the Different versions of the game were released
circuits. The researcher participated as a game between 2003 and 2008,1 the first without add-
player in the Trackmania community to ensure ons, and then with regular updates offering
that the data collection reflected direct experi- new racing environments, new tools, new
ence and helped limit bias or over- functionalities and improved graphics. In 2006
interpretations by the respondents. All Trackmania sales for all versions together
statements were systematically verified, based topped the 500,000 mark. In May 2007, close to
on corresponding discussions on the official three million player accounts had been opened
forum or by talking to several players. The (although not necessarily used). A free Internet
traces left on forums and websites thus version of Trackmania was also published:
allowed for a triangulation of data and more Trackmania Nations. This version attracted
certainty as to their level of reliability. The data over a million new players. The game consists
were collected over a period of three years, of small car circuits and of tools for editing
using a historical reconstruction of the period circuits, cars and videos. The driving is very
prior to the collection. With these data, a simple and each player can put his machine
chronological case history was written. This into server mode and organize games at will.
document was submitted to the managers of In the game, the producer Nadeo2 directly pro-
the community Internet sites for Trackmania. posed the list of active servers, with the

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200 CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT

number of players on each server. In 2006, ments, new game modes and new possibilities
Trackmania United brought together in a single of import and export content in the successive
game the seven environments used in the pre- versions have helped develop creative activi-
ceding games (desert, rally, snow, island, coast, ties in the Trackmania community over time.
bay and stadium).
Tools for Creating Activities Within and Outside
Evolution of the Game and the the Game
Trackmania Community Activities associated with the game are even
The game was progressively enriched through more numerous. For example, thousands of
different versions of new environments of races are organized daily if a player-creator of
races. The toolkit was originally limited to the content wants to play alone or with others
functionality of creating circuits and network- using his or her content. Originally no system
ing the races. It had been improved through- for exchanging circuits was provided for in the
out the observation period by creating new game, apart from putting them on a server to
tools that greatly contributed to the develop- organize races. Very quickly, however, web-
ment of creative activities in the Trackmania sites were created for players to exchange cir-
community. Data deposit (upload) circuits on cuits, thus adding to the Trackmania toolkit. As
the main site, content sharing TMX Tracks and Tom says, ‘In Trackmania Sunrise, they have
the number of registrations on the main Track- implemented the import of vehicles into the game,
mania forum showed continued growth in the so we think of it as site for easy access and sharing
number of active players in creative activities with everyone. This site is still online after a year
and in the life of the community. We summa- and a half.’
rize in Table 1 the evolution of the toolkit and In this way activities have developed
its impact on the creative activity of the players outside the game. In the beginning, players
and the development of the community. invented and launched the first contests,
forming racing teams to participate in compe-
Functionalities that Stimulate Users’ titions and managing their own servers, and
Creativity and Social Relations this practice continues today. Each member of
a team has a precise function. A manager
Tools for Creating and Opening to selects leagues, distributes tasks, plans train-
External Tools ing matches, and follows the games under
Creative activities in and around the game are way. A creator makes original maps which will
numerous. With the toolkit, users can create be proposed on the team’s server or designs
circuits, express and develop graphic talents, cars with the team’s colours. Finally, there are
personalize cars and make videos. Editing racers who participate in competitions. Tools
tools consist of a circuit builder, a painting for creating activities are therefore indispensa-
workshop to personalize cars, and a replay ble for the development of team activities. Ini-
editor. With the replay editor, the player tially, the functions of the server and game
records the race and can export it to a video network had a strong impact on getting the
file. Trackmania does not, however, provide all community going. Since that time, racing
the tools required for creation. To go further, activities and contests have fostered dense
one has to use graphic software to create tex- social relations, cemented by the creation of
tures and 3D modelling software to model teams. Moreover, the launch of the free game
cars: as Starbuck explains ‘I do the mapping, I Trackmania Nations has strengthened the role
remodel all the UV on Photoshop . . . This is my of competition in community animation, as
pleasure making cars because . . . I always want to explains Carl: ‘with Trackmania Nations, it’s true
drive cars that I like.’ that there are plenty of new players and new teams
The game has integrated the openness – which arrive, because the game is free. We were
accessible sources, minimalist creative tools familiar with the principle involved so we immedi-
and generation of videos – needed for the most ately had tournaments there’. In 2006, the version
creative players to take advantage of the wide of the game Trackmania United, as well as
range of possibilities afforded by the Internet Manialinks and Maniazones3 added still
and content creation software. Experienced further innovations, reinforcing the commu-
players offer tutorials to guide novices, while nity aspect.
the general Trackmania forum serves as after- A Community that Groups Together
sales service to help creators. Since 2006, Interdependent Users on a
Nadeo has improved the possibility of car and
Multi-Sided Platform
circuit importation and the design tools to
make them more accessible to beginner crea- The Trackmania community consists of four
tors. Additions of new blocks, new environ- groups that contribute to the overall value of

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MANAGING SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION WITH A USER COMMUNITY TOOLKIT 201

Table 1. Evolution of the Game and Trackmania Community

Year Game Evolution of the Creative Activity Evolution of the

Version User Toolkit of Playersa Community

2004 Trackmania Circuit construction tools 1,417 Startup community.

Original Organization of Development of
multiplayer races websites dedicated to
the exchange of circuits
and cars
Launch of the first league
competition
2005 Add-on New blocks of circuit 2,777 Stimulation of the creation
eXtreme construction and circuit dynamic of players
functionalities Development of teams
and managers
2005 Trackmania Race screenwriting tools Expansion of creative
Sunrise Car customization tools possibilities with the
Tools to capture and use of external 3D
export race videos software
Introduction of a virtual Development of designers
currency (coppers) focused on creating
Ability to import 3D car video posted on
models YouTube
New game modes and
environments
2006 Trackmania Top players by country 5,206 Massive influx of
Nations Environment dedicated to (11,650) competitors
(free) competition Emergence of new
competition leagues
Presence of Trackmania at
World Cup games
2006 Trackmania Manialink: downloading Official recognition of the
United of circuits, cars and creative activity of
mini-websites directly to players with the coop
the game system
Maniazone: Moderating the impact of
regionalization rankings competitors with
and news regional ranking system
Modification of the system Opening the game to less
of virtual currency experienced designers
2007 7,362
(16,000)
2008 Trackmania New building blocks of 10,164 Stimulation of the player
United circuits (22,150) creation dynamic
Forever Adding simplified Easier handling for less
publishing tools experienced designers
New sound control
functionalities

a
Average number of deposit (upload) circuits on the TMX Tracks website; in brackets: number of registered
members in the main Trackmania forum.

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202 CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT

the game. First, ‘consumers’ participate occa- users, especially those who are less eager to
sionally in races and fill the game servers. A invest in design. The contribution of the first
network game requires a minimum of around- group, the deeply involved users, impacts on
the-clock gaming if it is to be appealing. the overall utility of the product and favours
Second, creative players have a key role in the its use by the second group, the consumers
game. Without the content diversity of over and competitors. Consumers, by playing on
110,000 available circuits and cars, all the races the circuits created by other players, and com-
would be alike and interest in the game would petitors, by participating in the competition
quickly wane. As stated by Sam the Pirate: ‘I leagues, justify and give value to the creators’
create almost all the cars for my team. I’ve done and managers’ actions. The four groups are
60–70 2D or 3D visuals, and for the team, for the therefore interdependent and all contribute to
TDS, (our cars) are only done using our colours, enhancing the game via their interactions with
black, white and pink, with a predominance of it (see Table 2). The Trackmania game, with its
pink.’ Third, the contestants, whose aim is community of users’ toolkit for innovation,
above all to win, are essential for increasing makes it possible to valorize the contribution
interest in the races by adding to the intensity of all the categories of users and thus increase
of the game. Fourth, the managers organize the value of the game for all players over the
online races by putting their machines in long term.
server mode. Their presence is indispensable if
there is to be a steady flow of race proposals.
They choose the tracks, animate the races, and Results
manage the competitors’ teams. In this way the
player/managers support both game and This study shows that the user community
community liveliness. Among these categories toolkit for innovation has a significant effect on
of players, certain users have a highly active the sustainable firm’s innovation activity.
role in the constitution and vibrancy of the Three reasons explain this phenomenon. First,
community. At the game’s beginning, the the toolkit favours innovative behaviour of
developer had created a forum on his site but users through motivation mechanisms for
had not developed a specific site for competi- creations that are constantly improved by the
tion, exchanging circuits, distributing videos firm (new versions of the game, add-ons and
and other activities. This forum was added to updates). Second, the toolkit provides clear
by Benz, creator of the first league competi- roles and responsibilities for users, according
tion, Tom, creator of the first community to their ability, thus guaranteeing their sustain-
website, and Starbuck, creator of the video able involvement. Third, firm-led toolkit
competition ‘funclip’. These creations are development provides users with an environ-
emblematic examples of highly creative ment ripe for skills development and thus
players who have individually structured promotes innovation in return. The user com-
activities in and around the game. As Benz munity innovation toolkit enables the commu-
explains, their role was crucial at the beginning nity to structure itself as a multi-sided
of the game: ‘What’s funny is that it’s still me platform, and this has important conse-
who invents the rules of the TrackMania competi- quences, namely a direct impact on the inno-
tions. We started on a particular basis, and four vation process, on the firm’s business model,
years later, it’s still the same’. These three players and on the nature of the products proposed.
have lead user characteristics; they are innova- The firm is called upon to manage sustainable
tors who anticipate players’ emerging needs. user innovation and they do so by using four
The structure of the community thus resem- modalities conducive to firm-community
bles a multi-sided platform, which allows for alignment. These include creation and appro-
the simultaneous participation of several cat- priation of value, and increasing returns to
egories of users in the creation of value. It is adoption. The following section describes the
based on network externalities in so far as the four management modalities identified in the
utility of the product or service for one user case study (synthesized in Table 3).
category depends on the existence of another
Managing Openness
user category (Rochet & Tirole, 2006; Evans &
Schmalensee, 2007). The Trackmania toolkit is The characteristics of the Trackmania user
indispensable for this multi-sided platform. toolkit and the partial opening of graphic
Toolkits are designed primarily for a particular sources to users made it possible to extend the
type of user, creator and manager with a lead solution space outside the game. The simplest
user profile, who is prepared to invest time in tools enabled users to create new tracks, while
designing a product suited to his or her needs. the openness of sources facilitated creation and
Connected to a user community, the toolkit innovation with more advanced users. The
makes this conception accessible to other game rapidly captured lead users who formed

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MANAGING SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION WITH A USER COMMUNITY TOOLKIT 203

Table 2. Contribution of Each User Category

Category Activity Added Value Tools

Creator Creation of circuits, Richness of content Tools for creating content

Presence of cars and videos Richness of gameplay Graphics software
lead users Website for sharing content
Manager Manager of races, Animation of game Tools for creating activities
Presence of competitions and Animation and Software for developing the
lead users teams management of the website
Creation of team community
website and sharing Animation and
of content management of teams
Competitor Participation in races Increases race difficulty Team management website
and competitions Increases the stakes in the Regional and international
races classifications
List of available races
Consumer Participation in races Presence on the servers of List of available races
races around-the-clock

a community via the networking functions of of obtaining additional resources which create
the toolkit. These lead users developed activi- value for the firm and, as a result, for the com-
ties that were not included in the first version munity. The community thus becomes one of
of the game by using the server and content the firm’s most valuable resources. Production
creation functionalities. The firm designers of 110,000 new tracks would have required the
then carefully monitored player innovations firm to recruit over 100 additional graphic
and integrated those functionalities that facili- artists. Instead, it recruited a Community
tate innovation adoption by all players into Manager through whom it interacts directly
new versions of the game. The partial opening with the community. Some highly active
of sources by means of a toolkit made it players have also been incorporated into the
possible to limit the solution space while development team. The game producer does
maintaining the possibility of innovating not hesitate to use a free-of-charge version to
with the lead users. The firm’s designers attract and renew players, but makes money
thus maintained control over development by selling players an upgraded version of the
while reaping the benefits of the players’ game. The Nadeo economic model is thus
creativeness. based on users’ ‘community work’, with the
The firm also adopted a partially open posi- gradual construction of an offer that alternates
tion. This openness is concretized by ongoing between free distribution (add-ons and a com-
interaction between the director and users in plete, free-of-charge version) and multiple
the forum, the financing of community activi- sales of the different versions of the game
ties such as competitions and website hosting, (with changes of functionalities). This way of
and invitations to the most active players to managing the business model reduces the
talk to the official game designers. However, tension between the necessity to charge for
part of the platform’s evolution is out of the income generating services, and the necessity
designer’s hands, being reliant on how the to involve the most active players, in part via
user community appropriates the product. free services, to continue obtaining additional
Designers therefore have to closely monitor resources.
the innovations developed by the community
and design new versions that facilitate diffu- Managing the Community
sion of those innovations to all users, all the
Using the toolkit has fostered relations
while encouraging their appropriation.
between players, who have gradually organ-
ized themselves into highly active communi-
Managing the Business Model
ties. The number and variety of on-line races
In our case study, introduction of a toolkit organized by the players ensures intense
linked to a user community directly impacted encounters on a permanent and ongoing basis.
the firm’s business model.4 The toolkit is a way This activity creates affinities and relationships

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204 CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT

Table 3. Firm Innovation Management with User Community Toolkit

Type of Toolkit Characteristic and Other Effects on the Firm’s Innovation

Management Management Activities

Management of • Tools used to create new Innovation process:

openness content • Permanent adaptation of content
• Limitation of solution space to users’ usage and needs
• Openness of content sources • Introduction of user innovations in
• Direct integration of players’ new versions
contributions Strategy: alignment between the firm
and the user community
• Direct interaction between
designers and forum
participants
Management of • Tools used to create value for Value creation: significant increase in
the economic users and for the firm product value with limited
model • Publishing of free add-ons investment
• Alternation between Appropriation of value: allows for
free-of-charge and pay versions partial appropriation of the value
created by users via pay versions
Management of • Tools for event organization Invigorating the community
the community • Networking tools in the game Increasing returns to adoption: once
(chat, local forum) and outside the community has been launched,
the game (general forum, it is self-fed with the contributions
website for players and teams) of complementary categories
• Networking of various Development of involvement by
categories of players users over a long period
Management of • Product that is both physical Materialization of the online service
virtuality (game box) and virtual (online by means of a physical object
game) Increasing the strength of ties
• Organization of meetings with between the most involved users
users at the firm Increasing the strength of ties
• Organization of events in the between users and the firm
physical world (LANs, video
game World Cup)

between players. They group together to form tools available resulting in development of an
teams and interact extensively on the forums. active community of users, involving users
The community leaders, administrators, with differing skills and motivations, and
forum moderators, organizers of competitions encouraging them to contribute to the innova-
and creator contests, and the game’s produc- tion process. These devices provide the firm
ers are easily accessible via the forums or with a means to indirectly manage their user
directly in the games. The tools for creation community. The firm does not need to appeal
and organization provided by the toolkit have to users to contribute nor to gather together in
attracted lead users who have innovated tech- a community, they have done so of their own
nically and socially around the game, with the initiative, over long periods, and the firm
creation of sites, competitions, races and yet has both fostered and benefited from this
other tools. The game producer has not simply enthusiasm.
followed the innovations proposed by the lead
users, however. It has reacted to the innova-
Managing Virtuality
tions by offering prizes for contests, entering
Trackmania in the video game World Cup, and The Trackmania innovation toolkit allows the
by partially integrating transformations into maintenance of a strong community around a
the games via manialinks and maniazones. product and ‘virtual’ service. Trackmania is a
The user community toolkit has thus made virtual sport game where simulated races bear

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MANAGING SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION WITH A USER COMMUNITY TOOLKIT 205

little relation to real car racing, and relations Katz, 2002). In our study, we observed the
between players are mediated by computer creation of a form of management and a learn-
tools. The game therefore allows for creation of ing mode in the game initiated by the users
a unique virtual space which affords users a themselves. This resulted in a circle of sustain-
large degree of freedom and integrates tools able innovation, maintained by the commu-
needed for animating the community. Para- nity, that the firm was able to control and
doxically, it is by sliding towards virtuality that appropriate through the toolkit. The perform-
this firm has created strong, lasting relations ance of these mechanisms and the level of user
with its customers. Simulation of activities and contributions vary over time, and as a result
use of communication technologies has made change the boundary. From this perspective,
it possible to partially eliminate physical and the toolkit can help rebalance the boundary
temporal ‘real’ world constraints. Trackmania during a performance deficit (e.g., via the
is, however, also one of the games in the video launch of a new game version or by improving
game World Cup, an event that brings together the functionality of the toolkit to motivate
a thousand gamers in a single venue. Here, users and stimulate innovation). Finally, the
virtuality enters the physical world. The racing boundary between the firm and the commu-
teams regularly organize local area networks nity becomes dynamic, insofar as the commu-
(LANs) between their members in the physical nity grows (thus modifying the boundary
world. The user community recognizes the through the use of the toolkit) and leads the
value of regular gatherings in the physical company to act in return (via the toolkit) to
world to strengthen its existence and assure its balance, adjust and develop this boundary.
continuation. Physical encounters also rein- This boundary dynamism (Bogers, Afuah &
force ties between the most active users and Bastian, 2010) makes it possible to consider the
the firm, and foster them over the long term. toolkit as a strategic asset in the development
and maintenance of a sustainable business
model, centred on the user as innovator.
Discussion Our second main finding is that a user com-
munity with an innovation toolkit is structured
In the case of Trackmania, the existence of a as a multi-sided platform catering to different
user community toolkit enabled the creation of types of users: lead users, creators, managers
a large community of players and has been and consumers. The openness of sources and
conducive to sustainable innovation in and existence of elaborate tools attracts lead users
around the game, by lead users and all other when the community is first set up. These lead
categories of users. The creation of a user com- users are indispensable because they facilitate
munity toolkit enables a firm to manage open- adaption of the game and toolkit to reflect user
ness, its economic model, the community and needs. Our research also points out that lead
the virtuality of its new products and services. users are at the origin of increasing returns to
These different types of management reduce adoption when a community is a multi-sided
problems of appropriation and of maintaining platform. As these lead users are often early
sustainable user involvement in innovative adopters and opinion leaders (Morrison,
activities. Roberts & Midgley, 2004), they adopt the inno-
Our first main finding concerns the role of vations of other lead users when the commu-
a user toolkit in the construction, control nity is created, and strongly encourage all
and maintenance of a sustainable innovative users to adopt the innovations as well. In addi-
approach with a user community. From the tion, our research supports the need to provide
innovation perspective, the toolkit can be con- different tools for each category of user, not
sidered as a means of managing the boundary just in terms of their level of expertise (Prügl &
between the firm and the user community. In Schreier, 2006), but also depending on the
the case of Trackmania, the boundary is posi- nature of the user’s expertise (creation, man-
tioned where motivation mechanisms, appro- agement, competition, etc.). The multi-sided
priation models and innovation activity work platform structure shows us the importance of
effectively within the community. The more linking these tools so that each user category
these mechanisms are efficient (and therefore creates value for itself and simultaneously
motivation is higher, with a significant level of creates value for the other users. The openness
appropriation and innovation), the more the of sources further attracts users who belong to
boundary becomes clear. Over time, the user multiple communities – something that has
community becomes autonomous thanks to been identified as indispensable for fostering
the toolkit. From the moment the toolkit pro- user innovation (Dahlander & Frederiksen,
vides roles and responsibilities to users (Prügl forthcoming).
& Schreier, 2006), it provides a means to inno- The third major finding is that a user com-
vate and energize the game (Von Hippel & munity toolkit serves to manage the openness

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206 CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT

of the innovation process by avoiding prob- standing of how a user community toolkit for
lems of appropriation. In this revealing type of innovation can facilitate the sustainable devel-
situation of openness, Dahlander identifies opment both of innovations and of user com-
capturing the value creation produced by munities. The results of our research show that
users as a main problem (Dahlander & Gann, the toolkit is not a simple lever for innovation;
2010). With the user community toolkit, open- it is an intermediary object that dynamically
ness is partial: only the content is accessible manages the boundaries between the firm and
and alterable; the source code of the toolkit the user community. Sustainable innovation is
and of the game remain inaccessible to users. possible when the toolkit facilitates the struc-
This solution enables opening certain select turation of the user community as a multi-
aspects of the innovation process to optimize sided platform, in which users can innovate,
capturing value (Gassmann, 2006; Laursen & interact and organize themselves in terms of
Salter, 2006). But the openness described their roles and responsibilities. From a mana-
above is not enough. In an active community gerial point of view, a user community toolkit
hosted by the firm, users are more interested makes it possible to manage the openness of
in recognition by the firm than by their peers the innovation process, the business model, the
(Jeppesen & Frederiksen, 2006). Alternating community and the virtuality of the product,
between pay and free-of-charge versions is a to further foster user innovation. Further
solution, in this case, to directly reward users research should spread to other industrial
for their work, while continuing to generate sectors and study the differences between
revenue. Our reflections correspond to an digital product and physical product innova-
emergent theme identified by Dahlander on tive user communities. Additional studies
how to articulate open innovation and a busi- should attempt to identify hindrances to the
ness model (Dahlander & Gann, 2010). The innovation process, while also determining
user community toolkit is a response to this factors that can encourage development of
situation. Because it is structured as a multi- innovations with a user community toolkit.
sided platform, it optimizes value creation and From a managerial point of view, further
makes it possible to optimize the capture of research should examine the key role of Com-
value by means of a free-of-charge/pay busi- munity Manager, the individual responsible
ness model. for managing the boundaries and animating
Finally, a fourth important result points to the user community via toolkits.
the necessity to manage links between the
virtual online aspects of a product and its
materialization in the physical world. This Notes
imperative helps us understand how the user
1. Trackmania Original end-2003, Trackmania Sunrise
community toolkit can also be applied to
mid-2005, Trackmania Nations early 2006, Track-
physical mass consumer products in the mania United end-2006, and Trackmania United
framework of mass customization. The virtu- Forever early 2008.
alization of design, facilitated by new innova- 2. In 2010, Nadeo was bought out by the interna-
tion technologies (Dogson, Gann & Salter, tional publisher Ubisoft, for an amount in excess
2005) opens wider possibilities for involving of €10 million, thus confirming the producer’s
users in design, especially if they are enrolled financial success.
in an active community. Supply and commu- 3. Manialinks enable users to directly visualize
nity should not, however, be exclusively players’ websites while in the game and to
virtual. Encounters in the physical world download the proposed content. Maniazones
make it possible to regionalize classifications and
foster strong ties and collaboration on new
to publish news and a local forum.
projects and can facilitate the crossing of com- 4. A business model defines the way a firm acquires
munity borders by users who prefer physical and exploits resources to generate income in
to virtual contact. The concretization of a relation to the firm’s organizational structure
virtual product as a physical artefact gives it a and means available to it.
tangible form, and is thus more likely to favour
sustainable brand loyalty.
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