%0 Journal Article %J Technology Innovation Management Review %D 2018 %T Living Labs versus Lean Startups: An Empirical Investigation %A Dimitri Schuurman %A Sonja M. Protic %K entrepreneurs %K impact %K Innovation management %K lean startup %K Living lab %K Open innovation %K testing %K user innovation %X Although we seem to be living in an era where founding a startup has never been easier, studies point to the high mortality rates of these organizations. This “startup hype” has also induced many practitioner-based innovation management approaches that lack empirical studies and validation. Moreover, a lot of these approaches have rather similar angles, but use different wordings. Therefore, in this article, we look into two of these “hyped” concepts: the lean startup and living labs. We review the academic studies on these topics and explore a sample of 86 entrepreneurial projects based on project characteristics and outcomes. Our main finding is that the two approaches appear to be complementary. Living labs are powerful instruments to implement the principles of the lean startup, as the real-life testing and multi-disciplinary approach of living labs seem to generate more actionable outcomes. However, living labs also require the flexibility of a startup – ideally a lean one – to actually deliver this promise. Thus, rather than picking a winner in this comparison, we argue that combining the concepts’ different strengths can bring clear benefits. %B Technology Innovation Management Review %I Talent First Network %C Ottawa %V 8 %P 7-16 %8 12/2018 %G eng %U https://timreview.ca/article/1201 %N 12 %1 imec.livinglabs Dimitri Schuurman is the Team Lead of the Business Model and User Research Team at imec.livinglabs. He holds a PhD and a Master’s degree in Communication Sciences from Ghent University in Belgium. Together with his imec colleagues, Dimitri developed a specific living lab offering targeted at entrepreneurs in which he has managed over 100 innovation projects. He is also active in the International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM) and in the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) as a living labs specialist. His main interests and research topics are situated in the domains of open innovation, user innovation, and innovation management. %2 University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna Sonja M. Protic is a Researcher at the Institute of Production and Logistics at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna. She finished her Master’s studies in Environmental Science and her Bachelor studies in Business Administration. She has several years of work experience in national and European research projects and in international project development for a multilateral organization. Her research interests include sustainable freight transport, innovation management, and living labs. She is enrolled as a doctoral student, writing her doctoral thesis in the field of innovation systems at multimodal inland terminals. %R http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1201