With economic competition becoming increasingly global and the consequential pressure on companies on a steady rise, innovation continues to be one of the most important sources of corporate growth. However, as organizations employ different measures in their search for innovative ideas, a source of novelty they often fail to notice resides within their own staff: Utilizing employee-driven innovation can lead to a set of benefits, both within the organization and on the market. At the same time, the ongoing pervasion of information technology in everyday life (both at work and in private life) has been increasing the common knowledge of and familiarity with IT hard- and software to the point that employees sometimes come up with suggestions on how to change corporate IT, based on their private IT experience.

This thesis seeks to explore the general process, drivers, limits and risks of employee-driven IT innovation in light of IT consumerization. Based on an overview of related work, a framework of employee-driven innovation is constructed. Subsequently, findings from a case study are identified and contrasted with the academic state-of-the art, thus identifying avenues for further research as well as implications for corporate practice.