In their struggle to deliver new products and enhance internal processes, organisations cannot ignore the innovative potential of employees. A central promise behind low-code development platforms (LCDPs) is the ability for organisations to efficiently involve employees in innovation initiation and have them develop ideas for innovative software applications themselves. In light of the growing need for digital innovation, we undertake an exploratory study of idea development on LCDPs. Guided by an idea management lens, we highlight similarities and differences in stakeholders, roles and process phases between idea development on LCDPs and idea management programs. We find that LCDPs empower employees to navigate the initiation of innovation with more flexibility and autonomy. Organisations in turn benefit from having employees drive idea development on LCDPs if they have adopted adequate LCDP support factors. Overall, our findings suggest that LCDPs constitute a promising avenue to initiate digital innovation with employees across an organisation
