Identifying hidden consumer needs: a systematic literature review

A key aspect of innovation is the development of new products (innovative product development). Successful innovative product development generates increased revenue and profit for the innovating company. In order to capitalise on these benefits companies must develop ideas and opportunities for new products. Successful new products are those which meet the needs of consumers and the identification of consumer needs therefore gives rise to opportunities for innovative product development. However, the research methods traditionally employed in consumer needs investigations are ineffective in identifying the more subtle and deeply rooted requirements of the consumer. This results in a series of hidden consumer needs, the identification of which could highlight previously unrecognised opportunities for innovative product development. Within the literature there exists a lack of clarity surrounding the most effective research methods for identifying hidden consumer needs at the idea generation stage of innovative product development and further research is therefore needed to address this gap in knowledge. The aim of this systematic literature review was to investigate the previous studies of hidden consumer needs in order to generate recommendations for the design of future research initiatives which seek to address this lack of clarity. The literature describing the previous studies of interest was systematically located and reviewed, and conclusions were drawn regarding the most frequently and successfully applied research methods. The concept of a research orientation was subsequently developed, which refers to the underlying process of hidden consumer needs identification. The findings from the review give rise to three high level recommendations for future research into the identification of hidden consumer needs at the idea generation stage of innovative product development, which seek to build on the insights arising from this systematic review in respect of the most frequently and successfully applied research methods and the underlying research orientations.