Ep. 28 - The Open Design Effect with Martin Schreier and Darren Dahl

Ep. 28 - The Open Design Effect with Martin Schreier and Darren Dahl

From How I Wrote This by Brett Gordon and Karen Winterich

April 16, 2026 · 1h 3m

About this episode

The episode explores the impact of open innovation on consumer behavior through a discussion with researchers Martin Schreier and Darren Dahl.

A PhD student's curiosity about open innovation. That's all it took to spark a research journey into why companies like Allbirds give away their proprietary technology—and why consumers reward them for it. JMR Co-Editor Karen Winterich speaks with Martin Schreier (WU Vienna) and Darren Dahl (UBC) about their paper, "The Open Design Effect”, co-authored with Lukas Maier (WU Vienna). The study revealed that when firms openly share internal knowledge with the outside world—what they call "inside-out" innovation—consumers perceive societal benefits and show greater willingness to pay. In the episode, you'll hear how a research stay in Vancouver brought the team together, why a Tesla example became a "lightning rod" through multiple review rounds, and the hard-won lessons about construct precision in today's publication landscape.

People in this episode

Hosts: Brett Gordon, Karen Winterich

Guests: Martin Schreier, Darren Dahl

Topics covered

  • open innovation
  • consumer behavior
  • knowledge sharing
  • research study
  • societal benefits

Keywords

  • open design
  • innovation
  • consumer willingness to pay
  • knowledge sharing
  • research

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Allbirds, WU Vienna, UBC

Books & works: The Open Design Effect

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