Idea selection in the innovation process: The case of Delphi methodology in logistics 4.0

Digitalization and hypercompetition contribute to a turbulent environment for companies that need to innovate and build complex inter-organizational relationships (IORs). In this perspective, “open creativity” and the means of generating and selecting ideas in the innovation process can offer a solution. The use of external resources, through a prospective approach to define logistics 4.0, is the object of this research. The investigation follows a Delphi-Prodin method. This method is little used in the literature. Over a period of nearly eight months, a community of experts have been interviewed. On the theoretical and operational level, the study confirms the interest of calling on external resources from the very beginning of the innovation process. It highlights the importance of boundary spanners to generate and maintain the links with the environment for the creation of collective value by assuming part of the management of paradoxes. On the methodological level, Delphi-Prodin explains the stages of idea selection.
JEL Codes: O360