Victorino, Guilherme Hidalgo Barata MartinsPena, Rita dos Anjos2025-11-072025-10-28http://hdl.handle.net/10362/190273Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Information Systems ManagementIn today’s paradigm, innovation is a differentiating factor that drives value creation to contemporary organizations, but ethical concerns are often neglected during the idea selection phase. This study addresses this gap by identifying and validating a set of ethical criteria for idea selection in innovation projects. Using a Design Science Research approach, alongside a Delphi methodology, it gathers insights from experts in innovation, ethics, and management, underscoring the need for a flexible ethical framework applicable across evaluation methods. The resulting criteria emphasize transparency, inclusivity, and social impact as core ethical dimensions in innovation. This research contributes to responsible innovation and ethical decision-making by offering actionable guidance for integrating ethics into early-stage idea selection, through the translation of validated ethical criteria into a toolkit for innovation teams to use. The study highlights the importance of embedding ethical reflection into innovation practices to promote sustainable and socially responsible outcomes. Future research should explore applying these criteria in varied contexts and developing decision-support tools to operationalize ethical considerations in practice.engEthical Idea SelectionResponsible InnovationEthical Decision-MakingEthical CriteriaDelphi MethodSDG 9 - Industry, innovation and infrastructureSDG 16 - Peace, justice and strong institutionsmaster thesis204071720