Research on innovation processes suggests that the most significant activities and decisions are made in the initiation phase, i.e., what is often termed as the “fuzzy front-end” (FFE) of innovation, and at the finalization phase, i.e., commercialization. If these assumptions are valid, one...

In innovation, the role of aesthetics is important, possibly paramount, but this factor is not reflected in mainstream innovation theory and research. The paper suggests that aesthetics, supported by serendipity, imagination, and creativity constitute the core, i.e., the “soul” of...