CGIP : Managing Consumer Generated Intellectual Property

Two related trends characterize the recent past: value propositions are migrating from the physical to the informational, and value creation is shifting from firms to consumers. These two trends meet in the phenomenon of ‘consumer generated intellectual property' (CGIP). In this paper, we address the question: ‘How should firms manage the intellectual property that their customers create?,' It explores how CGIP presents important dilemmas for managers, and argue that consumers' ‘intellectual property' should not be leveraged at the expense of their ‘emotional property.' We integrate these perspectives into a diagnostic framework and discuss eight strategies for firms to manage CGIP