Key Principles at the Strategic Front End of Innovation – A systematic literature review

The Front End of Innovation (FEI) plays an essential role for overall innovatory success. The FEI has already received large attention in literature, however, research regarding key principles at this stage of the innovation process is limited. In this paper, the results of a systematic literature review regarding critical success factors, key challenges and framework conditions at the strategic parts of the FEI (i.e. opportunity identification and analysis) are presented. In summary, over 140 principles were derived and aggregated in four main principle groups and respective sub-principles: 1) systematic uncertainty reduction, 2) composition and management of roles and teams, 3) definition of an innovation strategy and strategic alignment and 4) creation and fostering of an innovation-friendly, motivating culture. The derived FEI principles can provide a valuable basis for taking measures in practice and for further research in academia.