Ideas are understood as the starting point of innovation, yet how ideas are turned into an innovation remains insufficiently addressed in existing literature. Research tends to focus on creating better ideas and selecting the most promising ones, often overlooking the processes by which initial ideas are further developed. Existing studies lack a clear focus on understanding idea development as an empirical phenomenon, and on the activities that enable it. This thesis aims to build a better understanding of how ideas are developed in practice. It consists of a ‘kappa’ and four appended papers that explore idea development at the individual, group and organizational levels.

This thesis takes a processual, ideas-as-triggers perspective on ideas, focusing on what people actually do to improve ideas, how context influences this, and what it can lead to. The findings reveal two types of activities; idea-centric and interaction-centric, through which ideas are developed. Idea-centric activities directly address the idea and by adapting, concretizing, changing, and screening develop the content it represents. Interaction-centric activities, found in collective settings, build a shared knowledge base through sharing, aligning, empathizing, and legitimizing activities. These activities contribute to an extended understanding of idea development that is not only about shaping and improving ideas to support managerial decisions but also builds a shared understanding, support, and sustained engagement. The findings suggest that idea development should be understood as a set of activities that engages people in generative action as part of the innovation process, rather than a defined phase between idea generation and evaluation. Insights from this thesis offer a richer understanding of idea development and actionable guidance for managing it more consciously and holistically, embracing the dynamic nature of innovation.

Ideas are widely seen as the starting point of all innovation – but how do they get there? To me, existing literature offers few satisfying answers, often focusing on generating or selecting better ideas, while overlooking how they actually are turned into innovations. Existing studies lack a clear focus on understanding idea development as an empirical phenomenon, and on the activities that enable it. Therefore, this thesis explores idea development to build a better understanding of how ideas are developed in practice.

The exploration is guided by viewing ideas, not as distinct objects, but as triggers-for-change and traces the emergent activities and processes that shape them. This offers a distinct departure from traditional innovation research, as it reveals the actions taken and outcomes that emerge from developing ideas. Idea development should be understood as sets of activities that both directly and indirectly contribute to shaping ideas, sustaining engagement for innovation and fostering learning. The insights from this thesis offer guidance on how organizations can manage idea development more consciously and holistically.