Postulating the Law of Continuous Innovation Effort

Given the lack of governing laws and theories specific to innovation management noted in academic literature, the question emerges how allocation of resources by firms can be captured in terms of patterns. One possibility resides in the logic and impact of the innovation funnel. Therefore, this paper derives the law of constant innovation effort, which states that summative efforts during successive stages of the innovation funnel remain constant. This law has implications for both theory and practice in innovation management, and new product and service development in firms, sectors and (regional) networks.