This paper integrates relevant concepts from the literature to identify innovative customer groups for collaborative service design activities. It is proposed that the central concepts characterizing an innovative customer are innovation-related benefit; ahead of trend; use experience; and knowledge of the field. Measures are provided that underpin the integrated concepts and thus allow for the future testing and refinement of the proposed framework towards a more standardized customer screening approach. The need for open innovation platforms is identified to enhance customer participation beyond customer engagement behaviour. The paper contributes to the growing knowledge of the requirement to systematically select and involve specific customer groups in service design.
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