The Evolution and Generations of Innovation Management: A Framework for Understanding the Progressive Expansion of Management Objects and Organizational Capabilities

Takao Eguchi

IDX Research InstituteIDX Research Institute (E-mail: idxcs@e4.gmobb.jp)

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Abstract

This paper examines the evolution of innovation-related theories, methods, and processes since the 1990s and reconceptualizes them not as isolated methodological advances, but as a generational evolution of innovation management and the organizational capabilities required to operate it. Although advanced practices such as Stage-Gate, open innovation, and agile development have been widely adopted, many firms have struggled to achieve sustained results. This paper argues that a fundamental cause lies in a mismatch between the organizational capabilities firms actually possess and the scope and objects of innovation management required by these practices. Through a review of prior research on innovation process models and the evolution of Stage-Gate systems, this study shows that existing generational frameworks have focused primarily on increasing process sophistication. However, as innovation activities have expanded beyond organizational boundaries into platforms, ecosystems, and digitally connected business environments, defining subsequent generations has become increasingly difficult because the objects of management have become more complex and dispersed. To address this limitation, this paper positions innovation management as a higher-level concept that encompasses not only process, but also organizational capability, governance, ecosystem design, and digitally mediated coordination, and proposes a four-generation framework spanning from the first to the fourth generation. For each generation, the framework specifies the environmental conditions, core objects of management, required management systems, and the organizational capabilities necessary for effective operation. The contribution of this study lies not in rejecting existing theories or practices, but in repositioning them within an evolutionary context. By clarifying which generation of innovation management each approach presupposes, and the organizational conditions under which it can function effectively, the proposed framework provides a theoretical foundation for diagnosing a firm’s current position and designing a practical, phased transition toward more advanced generations of innovation management.

 

Keywords

Innovation management, generational evolution, Stage-Gate, open innovation, ecosystem, organizational capability, platform, digital transformation.