Users' subsequent innovation after organizational adoption: evidence from an online game user innovation community

Purpose In online user innovation communities (UICs), firms adopt external innovations beyond their internal resources and capabilities. However, little is known about the influences of organizational adoption or detailed adoption patterns on subsequent user innovation. This study aims to examine the influence of organizational adoption, including its level and timing, on users' subsequent innovation behavior and performance. Design/methodology/approach This research model was validated using a secondary dataset of 17,661 user-innovation pairs from an online UIC. The effect of organizational adoption on users' subsequent innovation likelihood was measured by conducting a panel logistic regression. Furthermore, the effects of organizational adoption on subsequent innovation' quality and homogeneity and those of the adoption level and timing on subsequent innovation likelihood were tested using Heckman's two-step approach. Findings The authors found that organizational adoption negatively affects the likelihood of subsequent innovation and its homogeneity but positively affects its quality. Moreover, more timely and lower-level adoption can increase the likelihood of users' subsequent innovation. Originality/value This study comprehensively explores organizational adoption's effects on users' subsequent innovation behavior and performance, contributing to the literature on UICs and user innovation adoption. It also provides valuable practical implications for firms on how to optimize their adoption decisions to maintain the quantity, quality, and diversity of user innovations.