Abstract
Innovation Studies has a well-established literature on user innovation, first identified by Rothwell et al. (1974) in the seminal Project SAPPHO study and expanded and advanced by Eric von Hippel (1976; 1986; 2006) and his many followers in multiple directions. This paper argues that our understanding of user innovation can be deepened by applying affordance theory (Gibson, 1979), which to our knowledge has surprisingly not been introduced to innovation research. We show how this lens can illuminate the key choices and dynamics in the usage- observation- design – manufacture process. We apply affordance theory to a fascinating and under-researched product market: devices to generate, record, playback and perform electronic music, and specifically in the genre of hip-hop, where innovation by users has been especially important to the advancement of the culture and of the technology.