Generic innovation designing -GenID- Framework: Towards a more systematic approach to innovation management

To achieve sustainable success in the global market, modern organizations need to be flexible and fast in their reaction to change, which depends on their ability to innovate, not just occasionally but systematically. Despite countless efforts and spending, many organizations feel they are not making the most of their innovation potential and resources and don't generate desirable profit. This problem does not lie in a lack of ideas, but more in a structured approach to innovation. Believing that most pressing problems organizations face today are characterized by unprecedented levels of complexity and interdependence leads to breakdown the conventional problem-solving paradigm. However, a structured approach to innovation management could be criticized as it may lead to rigidity and hamper creativity. Thus, there is a need to allow a trade-off between granting conditions for creativity, so new ideas can flourish, and at the same time keeping a systematic approach to smooth social cohesion, facilitate the pool of resources and promote the creation of a collaborative community. From the exploration of the distinguishing characteristics of the new economy and the new millenary, this paper provides the foundation of a systematic framework to innovation management. Based on the complexity and structuration theories, the concept "Innovation" has been formalized in two generic models: (1) Innovation Activities Model providing an integrated view of interactions involved within an innovation context, (2) Innovation Lifecycle Model portraying the major milestones over an innovation journey. These constructs has been assessed through an online survey designed to gather qualitative data. © The Authors, 2017.