Front End Of Innovation Research Articles

Prospective Sensemaking in the Front End of Innovation of AI Projects

Overview: Using artificial intelligence (AI) to help develop new complex systems poses challenges for less tech-savvy organizations and may prolong the front end of innovation phase. Complications arise from diverging understandings of AI functionality and requirements among involved actors and the difficulties of determining the usefulness of AI in such a complex setting. This article explores a cross-industry project that entailed developing a functional prototype of an AI tool for planning (complex) energy systems in new city districts, engaging both system (domain) actors and AI developers. By analyzing prospective collective sensemaking processes in two episodes from the project, we discovered misaligned sensemaking processes between system actors and AI developers. During the project these actors alternated between “seeking” and “disengaging” sensemaking behavior. We highlight how various prototypes supported alignment in sensemaking processes concerning AI and progress in the project. Practitioners can use the managerial implications to better understand sensemaking dynamics in AI projects and implement suitable measures, like education or support at various stages of the project duration, to mitigate the problems that can arise due to misaligned sensemaking processes.

Validating the rapid validity testing concept across regions

Empirical studies in innovation management often draw on data collected in particular regions, mostly in Western economies, and imply universal applicability of the findings across regions. Given the relevance of innovation for economic progress and structural and cultural differences among regions, there is surprisingly little knowledge available on whether the knowledge developed from Western firms can be transferred to emerging economies. This dearth of knowledge is especially notable for the early phases of innovation processes. Rapid iterations between knowledge creation and learning are critical at the front end of innovation (FEI), a phase that, in turn, is crucial for innovation success. In a recently published article, Peña Häufler and co‐authors developed the concept of rapid validity testing (RVT) and found support for its positive relation with innovation performance. Since the authors draw on a sample of Western firms, we explore whether the concept of RVT and its performance relevance remain valid across regional contexts. The data for this study stem from a sample of 1625 respondents from 232 firms in Europe and Latin America. Our findings advance our understanding of innovation management practices in different contexts, informing future research on the approach and relevance of assessing the effect of different contexts on central measures for improving innovative capabilities.

A Framework for Identifying and Validating Idea Screening Criteria—A Case of Research and Development Projects in the Computing and Automation Industry

This article developed an integrated framework for idea screening in the front end of innovation. A hierarchical decision model was used to develop the integrated framework. The proposed framework is deployed via a questionnaire of 15 experts from 7 well-known high technology organizations across multiple countries, using Delphi method to identify and validate criteria in front end new product idea screening process. The findings from integrating three perspectives (intuition, rationality, and reflections) show that idea screening can be improved in the context of creativity, quality, transparency, and effectiveness in decision making. This integration helped to reveal additional screening criteria to existing studies. The conversion of implicit to explicit knowledge that can be documented is beneficial to continuous improvement in decision making. Combining the three perspectives within the deployed framework contributes to a more in-depth understanding of idea screening that is complementary and represents a robust approach in comparison to existing studies that use either one or two perspectives, particularly since the findings complement the limitations of a human mind; given that much of idea screening occurs in the minds of experts. Future work involves applying the proposed framework in practice, for selecting the best idea to fund in a specific organization.

Multi-criteria decision making in the fuzzy front-end innovation process

Multi-criteria decision making in the fuzzy front-end innovation process

Factors of front-end innovation in fem-tech startups: An empirical study

The nascent fem-tech sector, estimated to reach $103 billion by 2030, represents a transformative intersection of women's health and technology. One of the important players within the ecosystem, fem-tech startups are continuously innovating and trying to sustain themselves. However, the sector is characterized by intense competition and a notably high mortality rate among startups. This study attempts to find what drives front-end innovation in the fem-tech startups. We conducted a national-level survey, capturing the perspectives of diverse fem-tech stakeholders. The collected data was validated using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings underline the central role of entrepreneurial orientation in propelling front-end innovation in fem-tech startups, encompassing dimensions like process, practice, and decision-making activities. Intellectual capital significantly shapes the entrepreneurial trajectory. Establishing symbiotic partnerships and cultivating relationships with key stakeholders are pivotal strategies for fostering human and organizational capital development. These factors collectively form a path model that offers insights into the direction of successful fem-tech product development. The study contributes to the emerging literature on successful health-tech entrepreneurship and also provides practice recommendations to the sectoral stakeholders.

How can technology assessment tools support sustainable innovation? A systematic literature review and synthesis

Sustainability considerations are increasingly important for manufacturing companies seeking to develop products that meet the needs of society and the environment. The way technologies are assessed in the early design stages plays a crucial role in the integration of sustainability into innovation activities – a necessary step towards the development of products and processes with better environmental and social consequences. However, existing sustainability assessment tools are difficult to deploy in the highly uncertain and data-scarce front-end of innovation. In order to ascertain the efficacy of technology assessment methods, a systematic literature review was conducted to systematize best practices in technology assessment and establish a set of design propositions to improve early-stage sustainability assessment. Subsequently, recommendations for designing and effectively implementing sustainability assessment tools in technology development were elicited. Several avenues for future research are proposed, including the testing and refinement of the design propositions and how to operationalize early-stage sustainability assessment.

Including Sustainability Criteria in the Front End of Innovation in Technology Ventures

This study evaluates the presence of sustainability parameters in the product development process, especially in the early stages of innovation, using the Sustainability Technology Readiness Level (STRL) tool. STRL assesses the initial planning of products or product and service systems (PSS) and suggests possibilities for incorporating sustainable features in the short, medium, and long term based on responses from startups (EBTs). The research was conducted in two ecosystems at different maturity levels: Florianópolis (Brazil), a more mature stage, and Santander (Colombia), which is growing, considering their cultural and social differences. To validate the STRL tool, four out of the eighteen winning startups from the MuEBTe SANTANDER public funding project in Colombia were selected. Characteristics of the two researched ecosystems, their actors, strengths, approaches, and expansion possibilities were identified and compared. The innovation lies in establishing a sustainable baseline when applying the tool by acquiring the front-end characteristic matrix. It was observed that sustainability as a variable has relevance and independence from product design in product planning, allowing for the selection of short, medium, and long-term actions throughout the product’s lifecycle. It was concluded that considering sustainability involves context and vision, resulting in significant choices of materials, processes, and production methods that add value and appreciation for the customer.

Art Thinking: Amplifying the ‘R’ in R&D

R&D is often, not only, the engine that powers innovation in organisations but it creates and sustains their competitive advantage. The front end of innovation—the ‘R’ of R&D—is expected to provide the initial spark to ignite innovation. Design thinking has become one of the most popular approaches to this crucial but challenging phase in the innovation process. In this letter, we contrast its shortcomings with a novel innovation paradigm that we derive from evidence of artistic practice: art thinking. We frame art thinking as a form of (collective) sensemaking and present its seven distinguishing features. An artistic reframing of R&D equates to a cultural shift. It requires art-based double-loop learning and needs to be championed by innovation management and supported by human resources development. We round out our plea for art thinking with seven imperatives that mark the mind shift and might serve as a call to action for corporate innovators.

A Taxonomy of Idea Management Tools for Supporting Front-End Innovation

Idea management is a crucial pillar of corporate management. Organizations may save research expenses, influence future development, and maintain distinctive competency by controlling front-end ideas. To date, several idea management tools have been developed. However, it is unknown to what extent they support the idea management process. Therefore, this scoping review aims to understand the classification of idea management tools and their effectiveness through an overview of the academic literature. Electronic databases (Scopus, ACM Digital Library, Web of Science Core Index, Elsevier ScienceDirect, and SpringerLink) were searched, and a total of 38 journal papers (n = 38) from 2010 to 2020 were retrieved. We identified 30 different types of idea management tools categorized as digital tools (n = 21), guidelines (n = 5), and frameworks (n = 4), and these tools have been utilized by software designers, hardware designers, and stakeholders. The identified tools may support various stages of idea management, such as capturing, generating, implementing, monitoring, refinement, retrieving, selection, and sharing. However, most tools only support a single stage (either capture or generate), and they cannot track the life cycle of the ideas, which may lead to misunderstanding. Therefore, it is essential to develop tools for managing ideas that would allow end users, designers, and other stakeholders to minimize bias in selecting and prioritizing ideas.

Front-end Innovation and Top Income Inequality: Evidence from Emerging Markets

We contribute to the literature on income inequality, by extending existing models to examine the effect of front-end innovation (FEI) on top income inequality. We use a fixed effect panel regression, on annual country-level data for twenty-four emerging markets, over twenty-four (1995–2018) years, and find an insignificant correlation between income inequality and FEI. The instrumental variable estimates, however, show a significant association between measures of FEI and top income shares. Furthermore, we confirm that FEI is weakly related to broad measures of income inequality. Our instrumentation strategy and robustness checks suggest that this correlation partly reflects a causality, from FEI to top income inequality. Finally, we reveal that FEI is necessary for the survival of new ventures, in the crucial early years. Overall, our findings confirm that that; a) sectors that scale slowly because institutions are a substantial barrier for FEI and, b) sectors that rely solely on the most skilled front-end innovators to access credit, significantly expand top entrepreneurial income share across emerging markets.

Fuzzy Front-End Vertical External Involvement, Corporate Social Responsibility and Firms’ New Product Development Performance in the VUCA Age: From an Organizational Learning Perspective

Fuzzy front-end (FFE) innovation is the important initial phase of manufacturing companies’ new product development (NPD) process, which can be a factor that determines manufacturers’ NPD performance and sustainable growth. This study seeks to investigate the role of FFE vertical external involvement (FFE customer involvement and FFE supplier involvement) in advancing firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) and NPD performance in the COVID-19-influenced age of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA). This study adopts an organizational learning (OL) perspective as its theoretical foundation in constructing a comprehensive framework by developing a series of hypotheses. In addition, we test the mediating effect of CSR on the relationship between FFE vertical external involvement and firm NPD performance. We use the structural equation modeling method to examine our hypotheses empirically based on data collected from 548 Chinese manufacturing companies. The findings illustrate that FFE customer involvement and FFE supplier involvement are vital drivers of a firm’s CSR engagement. Furthermore, we find that FFE supplier involvement plays a more significant role than FFE customer involvement in contributing to NPD performance. Finally, we find that a firm’s CSR engagement positively mediates the relationship between FFE vertical external involvement and NPD performance.

Through thick and thin: The moment of meaning as a boundary object

During the front end of innovation, teams embody abstract meanings into product concepts. The literature on Innovation of Meaning suggests that focusing on a single product‐user interaction supports this process. This Moment of Meaning facilitates the development of shared meaning and knowledge. We explore how the Moment of Meaning acts as a Boundary Object to support the innovation process.We study six Innovation of Meaning projects in different companies to explore how the Moment of Meaning supports the transition from abstract meaning to a concrete solution. Attending company meetings and workshops, we collected extensive qualitative data on the usage of the Moment of Meaning.We identify four uses of the Moment of Meaning. Depending on its degree of abstraction and perspective, it represents a Metaphor, a Product Vision, a Core Feature or an Experience Concept. Our study sheds light on the reification of meanings in early stages of innovation. Also, we highlight the potential evolution of Boundary Objects over time. To managers, we provide actionable knowledge on how a simple boundary object could ease the transition from an innovation strategy to a concrete product concept.

The Front-End of R&D at Non-profit Research Centers — How Does Research Produce Impact?

This study reviewed the literature to understand “how does research produce impact?”. Despite all discussion threads in the literature, it was clear that management of the Front-end of Innovation (FEI) of non-profit research centers has received little attention. As a result, this study was a first step toward proposing a model that describes the Front-End of R&D at non-profit Research Centers. This paper is an Integrative Literature Review that follows the PRISMA statement methodology. Building on FEI2O’s High-Level Ontology, this paper’s contribution elicited relevant constructs from the literature and took the first steps to extend it to the Front-End of R&D. New research-related concepts such as the RESEARCH CONCEPT, the INFLUENCING FACTORS, and the RESEARCH PROJECT were introduced. The RESEARCH PROJECT produces RESULTS that may have an IMPACT ON SOCIETY. All these concepts are interconnected through a feedback loop that feeds the FEI2O: STRATEGIC PURPOSE of the non-profit research center, contributing to the advancement of its research strategy, objectives, and goals. The current work contributed to understanding a domain of knowledge that is of interest to researchers, research managers, and those interested in bringing new scientific research results to society.

Influence of Innovation on the Growth of Micro and Small Pharmaceutical Enterprises in Kenya

Medium and Small Enterprises (MSEs) are engines of economic development through contribution of jobs and poverty reduction. Currently, the MSE sector in Kenya contributes over 70% of the country’s GDP. Despite this importance, 3 out every five of MSEs in Kenya collapse within 3-5 years of operation leading to loss of jobs, increased poverty and low GDP. Innovation has been termed as one of the most crucial elements in today’s globalized and competitive environment. Remaining competitive in today’s modern world require organizations to pursue innovation the objective of the study was to determine the influence of innovation on growth of micro and small pharmaceutical enterprises in Kenya. To achieve this objective, a descriptive survey study design shall be adopted. The target population of the study was the pharmaceutical MSEs in Nairobi County. Random sampling technique was used to get sample size of 30 .The research study adopted a questionnaire as a research data collection instrument. Both open and closed ended questions shall be used to elicit responses from respondents. The research data collected was analyzed using the statistical package for social scientists software and the results presented using charts and tables. Descriptive statistical data was used for analysis and reporting. The reliability of the test instrument shall be done using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Regression analysis was used to establish the relationship between growth and the types of innovation applied in pharmaceutical Mses. The study results were presented through tables and figures. The study concludes that open innovation has a positive and significant effect on growth of micro and small pharmaceutical enterprises in Kenya. In addition, the study concludes that process innovation has a positive and significant effect on growth of micro and small pharmaceutical enterprises in Kenya. Further, the study concludes that front end innovation has a positive and significant effect on growth of micro and small pharmaceutical enterprises in Kenya. The study also concludes that market innovation has a positive and significant effect on growth of micro and small pharmaceutical enterprises in Kenya. Based on the results, this study recommends that the management of micro and small pharmaceutical enterprises should encourage open innovation to ensure maximum utilization of resources and minimize wastage. Further, the management of micro and small pharmaceutical enterprises should formulate and implement effective marketing strategies to increase the sales of their firm. Keywords: Innovation, Leadership Skills, Pharmaceuticals, Micro and Small Enterprises

Front-end of innovation: a systematic review and lifecycle analysis

PurposeThis study investigates the intellectual structure of the front-end of innovation (FEI) research field and elaborates a lifecycle model, which embraces the FEI progress and conceptual development.Design/methodology/approachThis study analysed 355 papers published from 1987 to 2020 in the Scopus and Web of Science databases through bibliometrics, network analysis and content analysis.FindingsThis study reveals FEI research themes and topics and explores their evolution through three periods. In addition, following a lifecycle approach, it also sets the research field foundation and discusses the maturity and potential progress of the FEI intellectual structure.Originality/valueThis study complements the existing FEI reviews by capturing the most relevant topics in the area, showing how these topics relate to each other to form the intellectual domain and providing insights concerning the research progress through different lifecycle stages. It also extends the FEI database used in the other literature reviews.

Redes de promoção às colaborações no front end da inovação: uma revisão sistemática da literatura

Objective: Based on international scientific literature, the research seeks to understand the interface between the subjects of networks, collaborations, and the front end of innovation (FEI).Methodology/approach: Two systematic reviews were carried out, seeking articles published from 2010 onward in the EBSCO, Scopus, and Web of Science databases.Originality/Relevance: The article contributes to studies within the themes of networks, especially focused on collaboration that support the front end of innovation. The research was limited to understanding networks in the context of entrepreneurship. Therefore, there is opportunity for future analysis in other contexts.Main results: The study selected 49 articles published from 2010 onward, revealing complementarity within the fields studied.Theoretical/methodological contributions: The articles that discuss the context of collaboration in the front end of innovation address topics that are interconnected, such as “social networks,” “theory of knowledge,” and “open innovation.”Social/management contributions: It was possible to identify elements that influence a network, such as the region’s cultural and material structure, and aspects regarding the relationships established in the network, particularly individual predispositions and the strength of the ties.

From the President and IFST News

From the President and <scp>IFST</scp> News

HOW TO STRENGTHEN A CULTURE OF INNOVATION BY COMBINING VALUES-BASED AND EVIDENCE-BASED INNOVATION MANAGEMENT

Values-based management and evidence-based innovation management both improve a company’s innovation performance. However, there are no systematic studies of how combining values-based and evidence-based innovation management influences the innovation culture in mid-sized B2B companies. In this exploratory case study, we describe how a longitudinal analysis of innovation culture and a values-based initiative were combined in a 7-step approach, which was applied in a global mid-sized B2B manufacturer of drug-delivery systems and pharmaceutical components over a three-year period. The results of the longitudinal innovation culture survey and the analysis of front-end innovation key performance indicators provided insight into the positive impact of new normative company values on the organisation’s innovation culture as well as on the effectiveness of the idea generation process. The exploratory case study demonstrates how a customised combination of values-based and evidence-based innovation management elements can systematically strengthen an organisation’s innovation culture and the effectiveness of its idea generation process.

Implementation Design In the Creation of Companies In the 4.0 Technology Era

Industry 4.0 has been referred to as a new modern stage in which various developing technologies come together to deliver continuous innovation. After all, there is no understanding of how the organization does this innovation. After all, no one knows how the company performs this type of innovation. In this way, we expect to gain a better understanding of how Industry 4.0 ideas are accepted in assembly plants. We present a theoretical framework for this advancement, which we divide into two categories: front-end and base innovation. Front-end innovation considers four factors: smart manufacturing, smart products, a smart inventory network, and smart work, whereas basic advancement considers four factors: the internet of things, cloud administration, big data, and investigation. The sampling method, variable definition, sample and variance method, and data analysis are all used in this study. To focus on adopting these advancements, we reviewed 92 assembly organizations. Our findings imply that Industry 4.0 is linked to a fundamental embrace of front-end innovations, with Smart Manufacturing taking center stage. Our findings also suggest that implementing basic innovations is putting the organization to the test, given the sample in question still has very little knowledge and testing. We propose the creation of an Industry 4.0 innovation layer and demonstrate the extent of adoption of these advancements as well as their company-building ideas.

Exploring factors influencing the acceptance of social robots among early adopters and mass market representatives

When designing social robots, it is crucial to understand the diverse expectations of different kinds of innovation adopters. Different factors influence early adopters of innovations and mass market representatives’ perceptions of the usefulness of social robots. The first aim of the study was to test how applicable the technology acceptance model 3 (TAM3) is in the context of social robots. Participants’ acceptance of social robotics in a workplace environment in the fuzzy front-end (FFE) innovation phase of a robot development project was examined. Based on the findings for the model, we developed a reduced version of the TAM3 that is more applicable for social robots. The second objective was to analyze how early adopters’ and mass market representatives’ acceptance of social robots differs. Quantitative research methods were used. For early adopters, result demonstrability has a significant influence on perceived usefulness of social robots, while for mass market representatives, perceived enjoyment has a more significant influence on perceived usefulness. The findings indicate that users’ innovation adoption style influences the factors that users consider important in the usefulness of social robots. Robot developers should take these into account during the FFE innovation phase.