A Framework Proposal for Building Ideation Models on the Front End of Innovation

Abstract

Idea generation, as a key component of the Front End of Innovation (FEI), is a critical phase in entrepreneurial endeavors, serving as the foundation for new venture creation and product development. Innovation management and entrepreneurship literature underscores the importance of idea generation, emphasizing its role as an essential precursor to successful ventures and products. While academic research has extensively explored the FEI and idea generation methods, a significant gap remains in developing FEI models for broad use or specific contexts. Especially, there is a lack of action-oriented, performative models that offer detailed, applicable techniques and tools. Existing models often adopt only a corporate perspective, are overly broad, use complex structures or miss the use of new emerging digital tools, which makes these models not accessible or relevant to entrepreneurs or applicable across different industries or product types. To address these issues, employing the Integrative Literature Review Methodology, this study proposes a comprehensive FEI framework designed to facilitate the development of new idea-generation models that cater to different types of users and contexts and incorporate contemporary techniques and tools. The framework focuses on six (6) key dimensions of FEI models: (1) Model Orientation, Scope and Context; (2) Innovation Type and Innovation Drivers; (3) Model Structure and Visualization; (4) Flow of Activities, Flexibility and Adaptability; (5) Core FEI Activities and Granularity; and (6) Toolkit (Tools and Techniques), offering a range of recommendations for each. It aims to provide scholars and practitioners (entrepreneurs, teams, or companies) with a systematic approach to creating usable FEI models that make the Front End of Innovation more structured and predictable.