@article {952, title = {Contextuality and Co-Creation Matter: A Qualitative Case Study Comparison of Living Lab Concepts in Urban Research}, journal = {Technology Innovation Management Review}, volume = {5}, year = {2015}, month = {12/2015}, pages = {48-55}, publisher = {Talent First Network}, address = {Ottawa}, abstract = {Innovation development is key to transforming a product-based economy into an innovative service economy by integrating users as co-creators in real-life environments. User co-creation and user involvement are key elements in living labs. Urban living labs add not only the urban component to the conceptual design, but also societal, political, and technological questions. Fields of analysis in urban research relate to socio-spatial environment, living together, and urban policies. The leading question of this article is: to what extent can urban living labs be used as an instrument to support these fields of investigation? Comparing three different approaches for urban living labs, ranging from socially-centred to more technology-centred, we offer a more nuanced understanding of urban living lab design in diverging research contexts. All three case studies manage to go beyond testing and improving new products, which is normally the aim of existing living labs, by embedding innovation in appropriate social, structural, and institutional frameworks, and targeting civil society involvement. The community benefits from this case study comparison because it contextualizes living labs as research methodology to be applied in future urban research projects. }, keywords = {co-creation, innovation ecosystem, participation, social innovation, urban living labs}, issn = {1927-0321}, doi = {http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/952}, url = {http://timreview.ca/article/952}, author = {Yvonne Franz and Karin Tausz and Sarah-Kristin Thiel} }