Building a pathway for innovation : Lessons learned from developing an online platform

Companies are constantly being pressured to innovate in order to stay competitive in the short run and have new offerings in the long run. One way of boosting innovation is to develop idea support systems that go beyond the traditional methods and tools. Through a qualitative study, this paper explores the lessons learned from developing an online platform for idea generation, and discusses it in terms of innovation process, climate, and capabilities. The results show that the platform itself is not enough for innovation. The structure and work processes around the platform are as important, which implies the need to design processes and procedures that allow an idea to develop, providing, focus, idea feedback and role clarity