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This theoretical review is investigating how selected HR practices can help overcome the challenges companies face in establishing a basis for continuous innovation and thereby economic performance. In particular, the front end of innovation is being emphasised as a key element in companies’ innovativeness. If HR is to support these activities, focus should be on broader issues such as team-based organising, founded on a questioning attitude and a management style with a high level of empowerment. In addition, traditional HR themes such as recruitment, training and development have to be reinterpreted in a context of heterogeneity and polyvalence. Finally performance management and talent management should play a greater role in emphasising exclusive values and rational goal-oriented behaviour among employees, compared to the more inclusive mainstream values that characterise much HRM literature. A number of propositions for further research are presented.

Most industries face continuing pressures from rising R&D costs, shortening product lifecycles and global competition. These challenges have increased the focus on shortening development times, which again puts pressure on the efficiency of front end innovation (FEI). In the attempt to overcome these various challenges companies are looking for new models to support FEI. This theoretical paper explores in what way idea management may be applied as a tool in facilitation of front end innovation and how this facilitation may be captured in a conceptual model. First, I show through a literature study, how idea management and front end innovation are related and how they may support each other. Secondly, I present a theoretical model of how idea management may be applied in support of the open source front end of new product innovations. Thirdly, I present different venues of further exploration of active facilitation of open source front end innovation through idea management.

The pharmaceutical industry faces continuing pressures from rising R&D costs and depreciating value of patents, as patent lives is eroded by testing procedures and pressures from public authorities to cut health care costs. These challenges have increased the focus on shortening development times, which again put pressure on the efficiency of front end innovation (FEI). In the attempt to overcome these various challenges pharmaceutical companies are looking for new models to support FEI. This paper explores in what way idea management can be applied as a tool in facilitation of front end innovation in practice. First I show through a literature study, how idea management and front end innovation are related and may support each other. Hereafter I apply an exploratory case study of front end innovation in eight medium to large pharmaceutical companies in examination of how idea management is applied in facilitation of front end innovation in practice. In order for a pharmaceutical company to support FEI, I present propositions of effective facilitation of pharmaceutical FEI and idea management.