During 1977–1983, research reframed innovation as an organizational process shaped by how ideas are generated, transferred, and implemented within structured workflows. The period foregrounded boundary-spanning actors connecting research, design, and production, a dual-core division of labor between administrators and technical staff, and a seven-step view of industrial new product development that clarified sequence, gates, and critical lessons for product success. Methodologically, scholars combined process modeling with diffusion-oriented perspectives to elucidate momentum, inertia, and the governance mechanisms that sustain innovation.