Innovating by bricolage: how do firms diversify through knowledge interactions with FabLabs?
Résumé
This paper provides some insights into the way a fabrication laboratory (FabLab) increases local entrepreneurial capabilities by offering a new and collective way to co-shape novelties based on a bricolage mode of innovation. With an original survey of 48 international FabLabs, it was observed that FabLabs tend to co-produce more unstabilized prototypes or drafts when interacting with small firms, whereas they co-produce more spin-offs and related variety when in a partnership with large firms. Moreover, FabLabs produce more outputs when they are connected to both small and large firms. In other words, the FabLab’s output is sensitive to its industrial partnerships and can be a driver for regional diversification under specific conditions.