Lessons for Responsible Innovation in the Business Context: A Systematic Literature Review of Responsible, Social and Sustainable Innovation Practices

Responsibly shaping technology innovation for the energy transition: an RRI indicator system as a tool

Efforts to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions have had limited success. For many, the hopes rest on new energy innovations to advance the energy transition process. In this paper, we develop a Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) base indicator system to steer the design of innovations in the field of energy transition innovations and, thus, improve social acceptance of these innovations. We propose a guideline for its application to assist R&D performing organizations and funding organizations in the design, selection, and communication of research proposals. The indicator system is intended to promote early integration of environmental and social aspects, support the formation of teams aware of the different responsibility aspects of innovation, and monitor progress in regard to relevant RRI dimensions.

Social responsibility in research and innovation practice and policy across global regions, institutional types, and fields: Interview data and qualitative content analysis outputs revealing the perspectives and experiences of professionals

The European Commission-funded RRING (Responsible Research and Innovation Networked Globally) Horizon 2020 project aimed to deliver activities that promoted a global understanding of Socially Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). A necessary first step in this process was to understand how researchers (working across Global North and Global South contexts) implicitly understand and operationalise ideas relating to social responsibility within their day-to-day work. Here, we describe an empirical dataset that was gathered as part of the RRING project to investigate this topic. This Data Note explains the design and implementation of 113 structured qualitative interviews with a geographically diverse set of researchers (across 17 countries) focusing on their perspectives and experiences. Sample selection was aimed at maximising diversity. As well as spanning all five UNESCO world regions, these interview participants were drawn from a range of research fields (including energy; waste management; ICT/digital; bioeconomy) and institutional contexts (including research performing organisations; research funding organisations; industry and business; civil society organisations; policy bodies). This Data Note also indicates how and why a qualitative content analysis was implemented with this interview dataset, resulting in category counts available with the anonymised interview transcripts for public access.

What's next for responsible artificial intelligence: a way forward through responsible innovation

Industry is adopting artificial intelligence (AI) at a rapid pace and a growing number of countries have declared national AI strategies. However, several spectacular AI failures have led to ethical concerns about responsibility in AI development and use, which gave rise to the emerging field of responsible AI (RAI). The field of responsible innovation (RI) has a longer history and evolved toward a framework for the entire research, development, and innovation life cycle. However, this research demonstrates that the uptake of RI by RAI has been slow. RAI has been developing independently, with three times the number of publications than RI. The objective and knowledge contribution of this research was to understand how RAI has been developing independently from RI and contribute to how RI could be leveraged toward the progression of RAI in a causal loop diagram. It is concluded that stakeholder engagement of citizens from diverse cultures across the Global North and South is a policy leverage point for moving the RI adoption by RAI toward global best practice. A role-specific recommendation for policy makers is made to deploy modes of engaging with the Global South with more urgency to avoid the risk of harming vulnerable populations. As an additional methodological contribution, this study employs a novel method, systematic science mapping, which combines systematic literature reviews with science mapping. This new method enabled the discovery of an emerging 'axis of adoption' of RI by RAI around the thematic areas of ethics, governance, stakeholder engagement, and sustainability. 828 Scopus articles were mapped for RI and 2489 articles were mapped for RAI. The research presented here is by any measure the largest systematic literature review of both fields to date and the only cross-disciplinary review from a methodological perspective.

What drives responsible innovation in polluting small and medium enterprises?: an appraisal of leather manufacturing sector

Responsible innovation (RI) has always been a major topic in discussions about environmental concerns, such as the depletion of natural resources, economic advancement, climate change, and social responsibility. Still, its incorporation in the business field is in its early stages, particularly among small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This research aims to investigate the influence of internal and external drivers on RI and sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). The hypotheses of the study are examined through the Structural equation modeling (SEM) technique, and data were gathered from 291 owners/managers of leather manufacturing SMEs through simple random sampling. The study found that external drivers significantly and positively impact RI strategies, whereas internal drivers have an insignificant relationship with RI strategies. Furthermore, RI strategies have a significant and positive relationship with SCA. This study adds to the existing literature by focusing on predictors that impact SCA. This initial study examines the influence of external and internal drivers on RI and SCA using dynamic capability theory and institutional theory. On these bases, relevant recommendations have been made to promote RI from the perspective of the government and SMEs.

Addressing responsibility in innovation processes for sustainability: Lessons for responsible management of sustainable innovation form a systematic literature review

Analyzing the impact of a sustainability agenda in research and innovation on system transition is a critical research topic. This literature stream aims to examine how research and innovation can deal with wicked-problems at a dynamic system level to create more sustainable future systems. However, this study addresses two main issues in the current sustainability transition literature. First, the literature to date offers little insight into concrete implications for the management of innovation processes at the organizational level. Second, sustainability is often addressed as per se desirable. While the concept of Sustainable Innovation (SI) can valuably contribute in addressing the first issue by providing essential features to analyze business management procedures and their broader implications on socio-technical systems, it falls short in addressing the second issue. Essential aspects of sustainability, such as the responsibility for potential future trade-offs through innovation, are not strategically integrated into the current framework. This study argues that without strategic integration of responsibility, there is a risk of contributing to a partially-sustainable-"irresponsible"-socio-technical system change as a result of business innovation activities. Therefore, an extended innovation process model for sustainability to embed responsibility at the core of innovation activities is required. For this purpose, the framework of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is utilized. This paper reports on findings from a systematic literature review of a representative sample of empirical studies from the SI and RRI literature. Thereby, the goal was to extend the understanding of management opportunities within innovation processes for sustainability through the implementation of RRI principles, in order to create sustainable socio-technical systems.

Participative leadership, ethical climate and responsible innovation perceptions: evidence from South Korea

This study explores a novel process linking participative leadership (PL) to responsible innovation (RI) perceptions through ethical climate. It also investigates the moderating role of managerial discretion in this process. Two-wave survey data were collected from employees working for technology firms in South Korea. Findings show that the link between PL and RI perceptions is mediated by ethical climate and that the relationship between ethical climate and RI as well as the indirect relationship between PL and RI are moderated by managerial discretion. This study expands the theoretical research perspective on consequences and mechanisms of PL, uncovers a new driver of ethical climate, expands research on the outcomes of ethical work climates, discovers new antecedents of RI perceptions, and enriches the RI literature by exploring mechanisms and boundary conditions in which RI perceptions are formed within organizations in Asia Pacific, specifically South Korea. This study provides a good approach for managers in Asian countries to follow if they wish to establish positive perceptions of an ethical climate and RI among their employees that are important to achieve organizational success.

Artificially Intelligent Super Computer Machines and Robotics: Apprehensions and Challenges – A Call for Responsible Innovation Framework

“Industrial revolution 4.0” is a term that is becoming increasingly popular among academics. A number of articles have been carved to emphasize the beneficial aspects of the stated issue under many titles such as cyber-physical systems, internet of things, artificial intelligence, smart manufacturing, digitalization of industrial production, and so on. However, few academics have delved into the negative or dark side of such a profound technological paradigm change, especially the artificially intelligent robotics, creating a large knowledge vacuum. Because of this, little is known about the negative repercussions of artificial intelligence (AI), a key component of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (or IR 4.0). It is an open secret now that AI machines may have serious impacts on human autonomy, fairness, justice, and agency. These unanticipated consequences have resulted in the development of an emerging concept, that is, responsible innovation. The responsible innovation framework binds the firm ethically, morally, and socially to be responsible, environmentally friendly, humanitarian, and business-oriented while developing innovative products. The current study proposes an integrated responsible innovation framework that acts as a science governance mechanism and considers organizations and stakeholders collectively responsible for upcoming technological innovations. This study has suggested several implications for policymakers.

Responsible innovation and ethical corporate behavior in the Asian fashion industry: A systematic literature review and avenues ahead

Fashion firms have transferred their manufacturing processes to Asia, seeking minimum labor costs, supported by the academic literature’s proposals for alternative supply chain configurations to maximize profits. Fashion industry has undergone public analysis, facing demands for greater transparency about environmental and social sustainability. The growing public awareness of sustainability issues has led firms to declare their commitment to sustainable resources, but few changes have been registered. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe listed technological innovation as a key tool for making the fashion industry transparent and traceable regarding sustainability and circularity. The research and responsible innovation framework indicate appropriate ways to manage innovation from a responsible and ethical perspective, according to ethical corporate behaviour (ECB), particularly in the industries characterized by productive phases processed in more countries, such as the fashion industry. However, the linkages between responsible innovation, ECB towards innovative and sustainable business models, and their conceptualization, are still unclear in the fashion industry, achieving the goals included in the UN 2030 Agenda. This study draws on bibliometric analysis and systematic review of the literature on 114 articles published between 1990 and 2021 allows to identify the above issues in the research domains, and outline the evolutionary trajectories, as well as to explore the literary corpus about responsible innovation (RI) in the ethical corporate behaviour (ECB) of the fashion industry and its Asian suppliers. The results highlight that fashion brands strive to develop RI and ECB along their supply chain. Still, the misalignment of corporate ethics and cultural values represents a significant obstacle to the adoption of business models, especially to achieve the goals of UN 2030 Agenda. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that discusses RI as enabling driver in the ECB for fashion companies also defining a future research agenda including RI, ECB, iSBMs towards SDGs.

Rethinking the Campus Experience in a Post-COVID World: A Multi-Stakeholder Design Thinking Experiment

In a post-COVID world, rethinking the campus experience is critical for defining new pedagogical strategies. As higher education moves toward more student-centred action learning models, university leaders should engage in democratic design methods that empower students and professors. Design thinking (DT) is a user-centred design approach that can aid in the creation of future learning environments. While DT has been used in innovative space design, we know little about how students, professors, and other community members can act as codesign partners. To understand their role in codesign and how their experiences are incorporated into new building design decisions, we need a conceptual model. To develop this model, we examined a case study of the evolutionary co-design process of a new building for a leading information management school in Europe. Using the concept of three phases of design thinking defined by Brown (2009): Inspire, Ideate, and Implement, we collaborated with a group of 50 design thinking students and more than 500 members of the community representing different stakeholders, to create new spaces and rethink the learning experience. Our discussion will centre on the creation of a participatory design thinking model that positions students as design partners alongside university decision makers. The findings conclude that, by applying design thinking methods, it was possible to unveil new dimensions of the success of future campuses that go beyond the building design. Creating meaningful learning spaces that inspire creativity and critical thinking requires an alignment between human centred design, organizational change management and new pedagogical strategies.

Analysing the impact of organisation’s dual mission on the development of social projects and innovation

Purpose

How does organisational mission affect the development of social entrepreneurship and social innovation? Based on the theoretical perspective of social innovation, the aim of this paper is to empirically analyse the impact of the organisation’s dual mission (social and economic) on social entrepreneurship and social innovation, as well as to discover the effect of the latter on the performance of organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data from 213 social economy firms, the authors conduct an empirical test of hypotheses using structural equation modelling.

Findings

The empirical study shows that an organisation’s dual mission (social and economic) has a positive effect on social entrepreneurship. However, the results suggest that the creation of social innovations is based more on social dimensions than on the economic interest of companies. The results also confirm that companies willing to embark on social projects can develop new products or services that address social needs.

Originality/value

The findings not only supply empirical evidence that helps clarify the effects of economic and social missions on organisational performance but they also offer guidance to companies on the role of social innovation in strengthening organisations.

Does Proactive Green Technology Innovation Improve Financial Performance? Evidence from Listed Companies with Semiconductor Concepts Stock in China

Academia and business alike are paying increasing attention to innovation in green technology due to the potential environmental and financial performance benefits. However, a limited amount of research has been carried out on the effect of proactive green technology innovation on corporate financial performance. This study examines the effects of two dimensions of proactive green technology innovation, namely, proactive green process innovation and proactive green product innovation, on corporate financial performance. Moreover, the moderating role of absorptive capacity on these relationships is introduced. The proposed hypotheses were tested empirically using a dynamic panel dataset of 126 Chinese listed semiconductor concept stocks from 2010 to 2020 and a difference-GMM approach. It was found that proactive green process innovation has a significant positive effect on both short-term and long-term corporate financial performance. Moreover, proactive green product innovation has a significant positive effect on long-term corporate financial performance. However, it does not improve short-term corporate financial performance. In addition, absorptive capacity has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between proactive green process innovation and both short-term and long-term corporate financial performance, and shows a positive moderating effect on the relationship between proactive green product innovation and long-term financial performance. However, it has a significant negative moderating effect on short-term corporate financial performance. Thus, we suggest that firms adopt more supportive proactive green technology innovation practices in order to improve their financial performance.

Improving the ethical dimension in the innovation process–Proposal for an ethical engineering design method

Large companies' engineering design process rarely considers the ethical and moral dimensions of innovation projects. This need for ethics is increasingly felt, particularly with the advent of digital technologies. Our research mainly focuses on product designers in large companies during the innovation/creativity phase. We propose and evaluate the efficiency of a method allowing them to consider ethics from this first stage of product development. A specific database incorporating ethical categories and problems from the early stages of idea generation supports this study. This database is inspired by a research project funded by the European Commission called ETICA. We evaluate our proposal with a detailed case study in a large automotive company. This case study highlights the contribution of our extended ethical design method from an ethical point of view and a financial one for the company. We believe that our proposal will boost creativity by addressing innovative product designers' usual fixations.

Assessing the Perceived Value of Neuroethics Questions and Policy to Neuro-Entrepreneurs

Neuroscience and its findings have deep personal and cultural meaning, so the implications of brain science raise new flavors of ethical issues not covered by traditional bioethics. The field of neuroethics bridges this gap, addressing and responding to the ethical, legal, and social issues intimately related to the evolving landscape of neuroscience. Neuroethical concerns have registered at the highest levels of government. In 2018, an interdisciplinary global neuroethics group working with leading scientists from the International Brain Initiative, a consortium of seven large-scale national-level brain research projects around the globe, published “Neuroethics Questions to Guide Ethical Research in the International Brain Initiatives.” The document provides guiding questions to consider throughout the lifecycle of neuroscience research. These questions tackle issues such as identity, morality, cross-cultural differences, privacy, and potential stakeholder involvement in ethical decision-making. In our work with the International Brain Initiative, we noted the important role that the private sector will play in translating and scaling neuroscience for society. We also noticed a gap in communication and collaboration between government, academia and the private sector. These guiding questions were largely co-created with policy makers and academics, so it was unclear how these issues might be received by neuro-entrepreneurs and neuro-industry. We hoped to identify not only common concerns, but also a common language for discussing neuroethical issues with stakeholders outside of government and academia. We used empirical ethics methods to assess the perceived value and attitudes of neuro-entrepreneurs toward neuroethical issues and whether or not these issues align with the process of neuro-innovation. We conducted one-on-one structured interviews with 21 neuro-entrepreneurs in the private sector and used two independent reviewers to analyze for themes. From this preliminary research, we identified key neuroethical themes and processual pain points of neurotech entrepreneurs throughout the innovation process. We also provide a preliminary neuroethics needs assessment for neuro-industry and suggest avenues through which neuroethicists can work with neurotech leadership to build an ethically aligned future. Overall, we hope to raise awareness and provide actionable steps toward advancing and accelerating societally impactful neuroscience.

Shared Taxonomy for the Implementation of Responsible Innovation Approach in Industrial Ecosystems

Symbolic narratives, such as an “ivory tower”, a “grey zone”, or a “black box” tell us about the gap between university and society, and academia and industry. Recently, they have been replaced by the Quadruple Helix model, which closes the gap by connecting four main stakeholders—government, university, industry, and society, into an innovation ecosystem. However, the roles of the different stakeholders are often blurred and difficult to define, and it is difficult to develop a basic approach to implement responsible innovations in industrial ecosystems in general. On the other hand, the interactions between stakeholder groups, especially universities and industry, are not sufficiently demonstrated in both scientific literature and empirical studies. We note that the responsible research and innovation (RRI) approach should facilitate a framework of shared taxonomy among stakeholders. By highlighting this situation, we follow the paradigm of emerging thinking and we seek to fill this knowledge gap theoretically and empirically. Therefore, in this study, we combined several strategies and perspectives. First, we conducted survey research concerning social capital in Poland and Lithuania to understand the impact of social capital and trust on stakeholder cooperation. Second, we conducted interviews with scientists who actively work to transfer knowledge into industry. Third, we utilized field notes from working experiences in research management. This work has theoretical and practical implications. The theoretical contribution of the paper demonstrates the construction of methodology based on emerging perspectives, and new theoretical insights, on professional discourses for implementing the responsible innovation approach in industrial ecosystems, by highlighting the commitments of main stakeholder groups. Practical input: our insights and empirical research will contribute toward sustainability policymaking and achieving substantial results in industrial ecosystems. The results indicate that if there is trust, then the government, companies, and society (in Poland and Lithuania) would be willing to cooperate with each other. However, there is a lack of trust and cooperation between universities and businesses. Stakeholders have become increasingly aware of the emergence of a science and industry cooperation as an open platform, enlarged with society and policies. They note the problem of making research public and transparent as part of a new mode of cooperation; however, they articulate RRI as a framework of shared taxonomy.

IT-Enabled Sustainable Innovation and the Global Digital Divides

This article investigates the impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs), human capital, institutional settings, socio-economic, and environmental parameters on sustainable innovation (SI) using archival data for 127 economies from 2008 to 2017. We developed an econometrics research framework for investigating factors influencing SI on a global scale. We found that ICT variables, such as ICT access and ICT broadband network, positively influence sustainable innovation in conjunction with the socio-economic and political parameters. Despite differences among economies in terms of ICTs, socio-economic development, and educational attainment, ICTs are the significant drivers of sustainable innovation and economic growth. We observed a growing digital divide among nations within the context of the knowledge-based economy and the expansion of digital commerce, particularly in the least developed countries and Africa, a phenomenon impeding sustainable innovation growth. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that empirically investigates the global digital divide from sustainable innovation perspectives. The results of this study suggest that to tackle the digital divide issues, policymakers and educational institutes need to perform constructive educational reform in higher education curricula, particularly concerning STEM programs, which should reflect the necessary skills and competencies for deploying emergent technologies. In addition, ICT should be considered part of a country’s critical infrastructure, particularly investment in the broadband networks regarded as the backbone of today’s innovation.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Well-Being and Sustainability

Entrepreneurship, innovation, well-being, and sustainability represent the four pillars inspiring our call for papers and driving this Special Issue (hereafter SI) [...]

Crisis-driven innovation and fundamental human needs: A typological framework of rapid-response COVID-19 innovations

As a microcosm for future challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic exhibits increasingly transboundary dynamics, causing interconnected problems across multiple societal systems. To examine the role of innovations as a social mechanism to reconcile these arising challenges, we view the unfolding of the pandemic through the lens of a content analysis of 707 innovation projects that address the fundamental human needs of consumers and businesses. This study proposes a novel procedure to characterize large-scale innovative activities via text mining and employs a theoretical framework for identifying the pressing societal needs amidst crises. Our typology of rapid-response COVID-19 innovations exhibits a diverse set of domains ranging from technological innovations to what may be described as frugal and social innovations. We provide evidence for the growing prevalence of social needs beyond the basic notion of safety during the early months of the crisis. Our contributions show that a structural model of innovation activities and their latent drivers may help policy makers and innovators to move toward achieving a systemic reaction to such crises.

Crisis-driven innovation and fundamental human needs: A typological framework of rapid-response COVID-19 innovations

As a microcosm for future challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic exhibits increasingly transboundary dynamics, causing interconnected problems across multiple societal systems. To examine the role of innovations as a social mechanism to reconcile these arising challenges, we view the unfolding of the pandemic through the lens of a content analysis of 707 innovation projects that address the fundamental human needs of consumers and businesses. This study proposes a novel procedure to characterize large-scale innovative activities via text mining and employs a theoretical framework for identifying the pressing societal needs amidst crises. Our typology of rapid-response COVID-19 innovations exhibits a diverse set of domains ranging from technological innovations to what may be described as frugal and social innovations. We provide evidence for the growing prevalence of social needs beyond the basic notion of safety during the early months of the crisis. Our contributions show that a structural model of innovation activities and their latent drivers may help policy makers and innovators to move toward achieving a systemic reaction to such crises.

The Mediating Role of Responsible Innovation in the Relationship between Stakeholder Pressure and Corporate Sustainability Performance in Times of Crisis: Evidence from Selected Regions in China

Responsible innovation, as a new management paradigm that balances the need for profit growth and the appeal of social value, plays an important role in taking into account corporate economic, social and environmental performance. It provides new ideas for driving enterprises to become more risk-resistant and sustainable in times of crisis. However, existing research on responsible innovation has mostly focused on content issues, and there is a lack of sufficient research and empirical studies on its effectiveness in business organizations. Based on the stakeholder theory and the research logic of "pressure-behavior-performance", this study investigates the formation mechanism of responsible innovation and its impact on corporate performance. Through empirical research on 306 Chinese sample data, the results show that stakeholder pressure has a positive impact on corporate sustainability performance and responsible innovation plays a partially mediating role in this relationship. Flexible routine replication positively moderates the relationship between stakeholder pressure and responsible innovation, while positively moderating the mediating role that responsible innovation plays between stakeholder pressure and corporate sustainability performance. This study contributes to helping enterprises recognize the importance of responsible innovation in responding to stakeholder pressure and promoting corporate sustainability performance in times of crisis.

RRI and Corporate Stakeholder Engagement: The Aquadvantage Salmon Case

Declining public trust in science and innovation triggered the emergence and development of the responsible research and innovation (RRI) concept among policymakers and academics. Engaging stakeholders in the early phases of innovation processes has been identified as a major driver of inclusive, responsible, and sustainable development. Firms however have often adopted practices entirely opposite to those being advocated within the RRI framework, namely, reducing external interaction with stakeholders, focusing on exclusive communication with the scientific community and legal authorities while avoiding the social spotlight. We illustrate these practices, their causes and consequences using the case of the Aquadvantage salmon, the first genetically modified (GM) animal approved to petition for the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for human consumption. We find that such practices heighten the risk of social backlash, being undesirable from the perspective of both the organizations involved and society at large. Stakeholder engagement remains necessary in order to gain the minimum social acceptance required for contentious innovative products to enter the market. However, stakeholder engagement must be selective, focused on pragmatic organizations whose aims and interests are sufficiently broad to potentially align with corporate interests. Strategic stakeholder engagement offers a meeting point between the transformative aspirations of RRI framework proponents and legitimate business interests.

Responsible Innovation in Business: Perceptions, Evaluation Practices and Lessons Learnt

This study derives from the results of the European Union (EU)-funded SATORI (Stakeholders Acting Together on the ethical impact assessment of Research and Innovation) project. It seeks to gain insights about, firstly, integration of the responsible innovation (RI) concept into companies’ practices; and secondly, various evaluation approaches to companies’ innovation practices that consider responsibility, ethics and sustainability. Twenty four interviews with companies and business experts were conducted to understand the ways in which companies apply principles, frameworks and evaluation practices related to RI. The results emphasize the confined character of companies’ RI practices in the context of corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability and ethics. Moreover, the results indicate two main types of RI evaluation and control among companies, namely assessment and guidance. This paper discusses theoretical and practical implications of discrepancies in understanding and evaluating RI for large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Consequently, new approaches to RI in business are proposed, calling for strategic and responsible innovation management.

Improvisation as Responsible Innovation in Organizations

Improvisation might be seen as a method of responsible innovation in organizations, due to its potential to be more responsive and enable bottom-up initiative. Considering that improvising involves the ability to pivot we argue that enhancing entrepreneurial orientation of existing firms means that their entrepreneurial behaviors can be also displayed in more responsible manner. The paper aims at investigating the influence of improvisation on entrepreneurial orientation (EO). While intuitively improvisation is closely connected to EO, surprisingly, there is very little theoretical and empirical evidence on that relation. The paper closes that gap by empirically investigating the role that improvisation plays in enhancing EO. Building on empirical evidence on the role of improvising in individual entrepreneurship, we use Hmieleski and Corbett’s framework of improvisation as a three-dimensional construct (creativity and bricolage, ability to function and excel under pressure and in stress-filled environments, and spontaneity and persistence) and entrepreneurial orientation as a three-dimensional construct (innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk taking) to investigate the impact of improvisation on individual components of EO. Using the data from 567 senior managers from medium and large organizations we find that improvisation has moderate effect on entrepreneurial orientation. Importantly, different dimensions of improvisation shape components of EO in different way: Creativity and bricolage have positive impact on innovativeness and proactiveness and ability to function and excel under stress has impact on propensity to take risk. The study has implications for the theory of responsible innovation by highlighting the potential of improvising to generate more responsive and stakeholder-involving and, in consequence, more responsible innovation.

Does Proof of Concept Trump All? RRI Dilemmas in Research Practices

Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is described as a new way of doing science that brings science closer to society. Based on a qualitatively oriented case study, this article supports previous research indicating that researchers face a variety of ethical problems and dilemmas when implementing RRI for the first time. These include difficulties with anticipating and controlling future impacts, an asymmetry of power between project partners and an elusive understanding of the RRI concept. The researchers’ challenges were rooted in conventional research ethics and could be boiled down to one core dilemma: If RRI had been applied from the very beginning of the project period, the chance of realising proof of concept within the scheduled time may decrease. The researchers’ solution to this dilemma was to prioritize proof of concept and postpone RRI activities to later stages of the project. If RRI is expected to live up to its ambition of representing a new way of doing science, more effort is needed at the political level to facilitate change.

Roadmap for Innovators in the Process of Innovation for Development

This study aims to provide valuable insights into the process of innovation for development. We selected the “Reinvent the Toilet Challenge”, an initiative of the Gates Foundation, with the objective of creating sustainable sanitation solutions for the 2.5 billion people across the globe who lack access to safe and affordable sanitation. The Naturally Acceptable and Technologically Sustainable (NATS) team at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand was appointed by the Gates Foundation to serve as an innovative fecal sludge management (FSM) hub in Southeast Asia and collaborate with other researchers in the region, as well as with other teams from around the world to develop innovative FSM techniques that can help to solve the world sanitation problem. By gaining insights into how innovators interact with key stakeholders, we can understand the process of innovation for development and the role of innovation brokers in the innovation process, and then suggest a roadmap from the perspective of responsible research and innovation (RRI) to guide innovators, project leaders, industry partners, local government, and policy makers in the process of innovation for development.

Responsible Innovation in SMEs: A Systematic Literature Review for a Conceptual Model

Responsible innovation has always been an important issue in discourses addressing the major challenges faced by humankind in terms of natural resource degradation, climate change, economic progress and societal well-being. However, its integration into industry is still in its infancy, and even more so when it comes to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The aim of this research is to use a systematic literature review to develop a conceptual model for responsible innovation and its relationship with SME performance, in connection with sustainable innovation and corporate social responsibility practices. A bibliometric analysis of 102 articles collected between 2000 and April 2020 from the Web of Science database was used, in addition to the systematic literature review using the Gephi and NVivo software. The study presents an overview of the articles, authors, and most influential journals and research clusters identified, and provides a solid conceptual framework to be applied in this field and in the context of SMEs.

Why Do Firms Implement Responsible Innovation? The Case of Emerging Technologies in South Korea

With the rise of responsible innovation (RI) initiatives in firms that commercialize innovation in recent years, experts have argued that in order for RI to succeed, practical issues must be considered. Accordingly, this paper explores RI from the perspective of Korean emerging technology development firms. Although social benefits are expected from RI, which aims to reduce the side effects of innovations for society, the implementation of RI requires changing firms' existing rules and routines. Therefore, predicting benefits and costs from the firm's perspective can shed light on the likelihood that RI will succeed. In this study, through an expert survey, the relative weights of RI-related benefit criteria (technological level, economic performance, and public contribution) and cost criteria (anticipation, reflexivity, inclusion, and responsiveness) were analyzed. On this basis, trends in priorities for RI levels were evaluated from present and future perspectives. Unexpectedly, firms recognized that even if constraints such as RI impose greater costs, they will eventually bring greater benefits. This finding indicates that innovation induced by RI overcomes obstacles, offsets costs, and then finally increases firms' competitiveness, and that firms are willing to do good for society through RI. In the long term, a firm's ethical activities may eventually result in improved performance by its management. Therefore, it can be concluded that, even if RI is enforced in a compulsory manner, it is highly likely that it can be well established and promoted even in firms that consider profit first.

‘Wicked’ solutions for ‘wicked’ problems: Responsible innovations in social enterprises for sustainable development

Social enterprises create innovative solutions to address social issues and achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper examines the innovative social entrepreneurial processes using the theoretical foundation of responsible innovation (i.e., anticipation, reflexivity, inclusion and deliberation, responsiveness, and knowledge management). The data collected from three case study organisations reveals that social enterprises at the initiation stage address only a few SDGs. However, innovation development and implementation processes lead to products and services diversification and geographical expansion which broaden the SDG focus. During this process, enterprises iteratively conduct activities associated with different dimensions of responsible innovation and operate within ethics, values and rights-based boundaries. Based on these findings, this paper proposes a process model combining SDG literature with responsible innovation. The managerial implications of using responsible innovation perspective to achieve SDGs are also highlighted.

Exploring Determinants of Innovation Capability in Manufacturing Companies Operating in Poland

The innovation capability of a company is considered the determinant of its competitiveness in the long-term. Therefore, it is of increasing importance to understand the critical variable behind a firm’s innovation capability. The paper explores these issues and contributes to the research on the factors that drive a company’s innovation capability. The aim of the paper is to identify which factors determine the innovation capability of manufacturing enterprises operating in Poland. In the theoretical part, it provides an overview of recent contributions to the literature on a company’s innovation capability enhancers. The empirical contribution of the paper refers to recognising the relationship between the certain practices pursued by Polish manufacturing enterprises and their innovation capability measured by innovation output. Using a model for panel data, the study finds that that the factors driving innovation capability of manufacturing enterprises operating in Poland are the following: inter-organisational cooperation, hiring employees in research and development (R&D) activities as well as firms’ internal expenditures on R&D. The study is based on the data from publications of the Central Statistical Office of Poland, which contain information on the activities of manufacturing enterprises and reports presenting the results of research on the innovation capability of enterprises.

Responsible Innovation for Sustainable Development Goals in Business: An Agenda for Cooperative Firms

In this contribution, we explore the possibilities of Responsible Innovation (RI) to assess and support the engagement of businesses in the spectrum of Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) and, in particular, cooperatives to the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the firm level. We conduct a critical review of the academic literature on sustainable development and responsible innovation, focusing on the role of business to identify how firms in the spectrum of SSE can contribute through responsible innovation to the sustainable development agenda and how firms in the spectrum of SSE can benefit from it. Results suggest that firms can benefit from responsible innovation in the transformation of their business models. On the other hand, firms in the spectrum of SSE contribute to extending the scope of SDGs to business, not focusing on what cooperatives do by their nature (e.g., principles and values), but their contribution to key horizontal enablers (e.g., partnership and innovation) for the integration of firms in the sustainable development agenda. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the relationship between SSE firms and RI is assessed from the perspective of firms’ contribution to SDGs. Further research is needed to sophisticate the translation of particular tools developed in the framework of RI to firms in the spectrum of SSE and, in particular, cooperative firms.

Market-oriented CSR implementation in SMEs with sustainable innovations: an action research approach

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to identify and analyze critical mediating and moderating market intelligence challenges faced by the SMEs when implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) based on an applied market-oriented business model (MOBM).

Design/methodology/approach

Focusing on developing CSR-integrated market intelligence, this study uses an action research method by analyzing four case studies. Data is collected through interviews, interactive and knowledge-sharing meetings and on-site observations. The study is part of a larger European Union project using the developed MOBM to follow the four companies' CSR implementation and learning process over a 14-month period. The action research includes seven meetings; between these, the researchers introduced the SMEs to different business focus areas, where CSR is a vital part of the MOBM.

Findings

This study shows that the SMEs are too technology-focused and have little initial idea of how to integrate CSR advantages for market intelligence into their internationalization. The MOBM model offers insights and knowledge on the strength and weakness of the internal organization to meet challenges in internationalization.

Originality/value

Via case study and action research, this study spotlights the challenges that SMEs face in the CSR implementation process and how they deal with those challenges to develop market intelligence competence internally. Instead of following a traditional research approach, the current study applies a CSR-based method where the SMEs go through a knowledge development process that originated from a theoretically designed MOBM.

Mapping RRI Dimensions and Sustainability into Regional Development Policies and Urban Planning Instruments

Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is an inclusive approach to the research and innovation process. Regional and local authorities are encouraged to take advantages of RRI in order to address the complexity of the interplay between science and society, especially as it affects territorial development policies. However, adopting the RRI approach is not an immediate or linear process. Consciously or not, many territories have already adopted policies and planning instruments that incorporate RRI, generating effects on the spatial scales. The aim of this study is to provide a methodology to map the inclusion of RRI dimensions (i.e., public engagement, open access, gender, ethics, science education) into regional development policies and spatial planning instruments, in order to detect integrated strategies and elements that are sustainable, open, inclusive, anticipative and responsive. The mapping methodology has been applied to three territorial pilot cases. The results provide the territories with a baseline to improve the integration of the RRI approach in their commitments to develop self-sustaining research and innovation ecosystems. Through the lessons learnt from the pilot cases, recommendations are drawn for the integration of RRI in spatial and urban planning policies and tools.

Anticipating Environmental Burdens in Research and Innovation Projects. Application to the Case of Active and Healthy Ageing

In this paper; for research and innovation projects without environmental goals; a procedure is proposed to operationalize the anticipation and reflexivity of environmental concerns in the initial phases. By using the expert knowledge of specialists; we have first conducted a study to identify the general environmental topics relevant in any kind of research and innovation project not addressing the environment. In a second phase; a strategy is proposed to rank order the topics in terms of environmental relevance by means of the Analytic Hierarchy Process. To illustrate it; the case of Information and Communication Technologies for Active and Healthy Ageing is used because of its increasing importance; and because normal environmental targets are not considered. Results show that; in this case; the most relevant topic to be considered is the primary energy consumption by sources; followed by hazardous solid waste and consumption of non-renewable and scarce materials. According to the experts; these should be the main issues to be considered regarding the environmental sustainability of the outputs of such research and innovation projects. In conclusion; this paper contributes to a better understanding of how to promote a wider integration of environmental sustainability in research and innovation when environmental goals are not initially included.

Meta-Responsibility in Corporate Research and Innovation: A Bioeconomic Case Study

The term “responsibility” embodies many meanings, also in the context of corporate research and innovation (R&I). The approach of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) has emerged as a promoter for responsible conduct of innovation but so far lacks a systematic framework for describing, inventorying, and eventually managing different responsibilities that R&I units hold in companies and further in society. In this paper we take forward the idea of developing RRI into a “meta-responsibility” approach, for orchestrating responsibilities in corporate R&I. First, we introduce a frame for defining responsibility, which is inclusive of four elements (care, liability, accountability, and responsiveness), and is attentive to the intrinsic uncertainty of the R&I setting. Drawing on empirical data from interviews, we then examine how these responsibility elements become operationalised in an actual R&I project. As a result, we develop a meta-responsibility map for corporate R&I, bringing various and sometimes contradicting principles, expectations and obligations under the common terminology of responsibility. We suggest that such integrative outlook on responsibilities increases theoretical solidity and practical applicability of RRI as an innovation management approach. Regarding R&I practices, we conclude that the meta-responsibility map can support R&I units in exploring their co-existing and sometimes conflicting responsibilities, and in managing those responsibilities in the highly uncertain R&I setting. In particular, meta-responsibility shows applicability in (i) balancing risk and precaution, (ii) exposing and addressing concerns about the goals and impacts of innovation, and (iii) accelerating sectoral transition whilst securing one’s own competitive advantage in it.

Collaborating constructively for sustainable biotechnology

Tackling the pressing sustainability needs of society will require the development and application of new technologies. Biotechnology, emboldened by recent advances in synthetic biology, offers to generate sustainable biologically-based routes to chemicals and materials as alternatives to fossil-derived incumbents. Yet, the sustainability potential of biotechnology is not without trade-offs. Here, we probe this capacity for sustainability for the case of bio-based nylon using both deliberative and analytical approaches within a framework of Constructive Sustainability Assessment. We highlight the potential for life cycle CO2 and N2O savings with bio-based processes, but report mixed results in other environmental and social impact categories. Importantly, we demonstrate how this knowledge can be generated collaboratively and constructively within companies at an early stage to anticipate consequences and to inform the modification of designs and applications. Application of the approach demonstrated here provides an avenue for technological actors to better understand and become responsive to the sustainability implications of their products, systems and actions.

Research Profiling for Responsible and Sustainable Innovations

The issues of responsible and sustainable innovations have been attracting the growing attention of the ranks of scholars in recent years. However, this amassing productivity in the field has not been mapped and profiled thoroughly, yet. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to map the research output related to the concepts of responsible and sustainable innovations with the method of research profiling. The analysis consists of three components: general research profiling, subject area profiling and topic profiling conducted with the use of Scopus database. The research process is directed at answering three research questions: (1) who are the main contributors within the scholarly community? why? so what? (2) how is the research output distributed among subject areas? why? so what? (3) what are the central topics and issues discussed within the research field? why? so what? First of all, key contributing countries, research institutions, journals, and authors are identified in order to characterize the scholarly community working in the field. Secondly, research output is profiled through the prism of respective subject areas. This type of profiling aims at discovering varieties among key journals, authors and core references distributed across various subject areas. Thirdly, topic analysis is conducted in order to point out most crucial aspects studied in the body of literature in the field. The research sample consists of 1,083 publications indexed in Scopus database, including the phrases ‘responsible innovation’ or ‘sustainable innovation’ within their titles, keywords, and abstracts (topic search). The findings from the general research profiling confirm the growing interest of academia in exploring and investigating the issues of responsible and sustainable innovations. The leading contributors in the field are scholars and research institutions from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Dutch universities and research centers occupy three top three positions in regard to the number of publications. Among them, Delft University of Technology is the unquestionable leader. Journal of Cleaner Production and Journal of Responsible Innovation are found to be the most prolific and highly recognized source titles in the field. Subject area profiling shows a relatively high level of interrelatedness among the four leading subject areas i.e., Business, Management and Accounting, Engineering, Social Sciences, and Environmental Science in regard to authors, source titles and core references. Topic profiling indicates two leading thematic streams in the research field focused on the features and core aspects of responsible and sustainable innovations, and the relationships of the concept with people (human, humans), research, ethics, and technology. Discussion of research findings is focused around comparing and contrasting three overlapping concepts (i.e., responsible research and innovation, responsible innovation, and sustainable innovation), providing the critical assessment of the reasons for the scholarly research to have developed along with certain patterns and identifying unexplored aspects or possible future avenues of research.

Responsible for Responsibility? A Study of Digital E-health Startups

Responsible innovation (RI) has received increased attention from policymakers and academics as a solution to grand challenges and is viewed as the main driver for innovation. The United Nations has suggested 17 Sustainable Development Goals and responsible innovation can be seen as a tool that allows the movement of society towards reducing inequality, coping with environmental challenges and sustaining countries’ economic and societal development. Our knowledge of how businesses act responsibly in solving these challenges is scarce. An inductive analysis of 14 e-health startups in Norway, shows that responsibility is highly prevalent. Entrepreneurs have instant contact with users (patients or healthcare professionals), which increases inclusiveness, anticipation and reflection as the main elements of responsibility. However, firms’ contextual and strategic awareness of responsibility remains low, which means an absence of focused strategies to exercise responsibility. Consequently, entrepreneurial startups are prevented from reaching broader stakeholders and fully reflecting the knowledge obtained. Moreover, RI activities are often bundled with other activities on the “path” to successful commercialization. This paper contributes to and enriches the current RI understanding from a firm perspective and suggests some implications for practitioners as well as policymakers to enhance sustainable development in the healthcare sector.

Social Entrepreneurship in the Conduct of Responsible Innovation: Analysis Cluster in Mexican SMEs

Responsible innovation combines philanthropic and economic aspects and it is common to refer to entrepreneurs who lead it as “social entrepreneurs”. The present study of 100 Mexican small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), provides knowledge of an exploratory nature about what the models of organization are conducive to SMEs in the generation and development of responsible innovations. Through the statistical technique of cluster analysis, this study identified and characterized four models of organization according to the level of social entrepreneurship intentions reached: (1) “The techno-scientific organization”, (2) “The techno-social organization”, (3) “The capitalist-social organization” and (4) “The capitalist organization”. While in Europe the dominant discourse about responsible innovation focuses on the control of the risk of social rejection of the advance of science and technology. In contexts, such as the Mexicans, the phenomenon is configured as the mechanism through which entrepreneurs articulate its technological and scientific capabilities to solve priority and specific problems of the society, however, the social impact does not crucially affect their business initiatives. The techno-scientific organization (50% of studied SMEs) is proposed as the model of organization with greater viability for Mexican entrepreneurs.

Science Mapping of the Knowledge Base on Sustainable Entrepreneurship, 1996–2019

After the launch of the United Nations’ Brundtland’s report in 1987, entrepreneurship has been promoted as one of the tools for achieving sustainable development. Since then, the studies in sustainable entrepreneurship have flourished and this topic has emerged as a subfield of entrepreneurship research. In order to examine the current stage of sustainable entrepreneurship (SE) research, this review utilized science mapping tools to analyze 712 Scopus-indexed documents written on the topic of sustainable entrepreneurship. This review assesses the size, publication evolution, and worldwide dispersion of research publications of this knowledge base as well as topics that have gained increased interest over the past few years. The review documented an emerging knowledge base, concentrated in Western developed societies. Sustainable entrepreneurship has evolved from earlier incarnations such as ecopreneurship and social entrepreneurship. Author co-citation analysis, three Schools of Thoughts (or three sub-themes) were identified in this knowledge base, namely Sustainable Entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneurship, and Sustainability Innovation. This review aspires to provide a baseline bibliometric analysis of sustainable entrepreneurship research that both charts the evolution of this knowledge base and points towards productive lines of future inquiry.

Ecosocial Innovations and Their Capacity to Integrate Ecological, Economic and Social Sustainability Transition

The article contributes to sustainability transition research by indicating the significance of transformative grassroots innovations in the context of social work research. We introduce the integrative concept of ecosocial innovation in order to demonstrate how grassroots innovations can successfully combine social, ecological and economic aspects of a sustainability transition. By ecosocial innovations, we refer to social innovations with a strong ecological orientation (e.g., recycling workshops, urban gardening, participatory unemployment projects and new local economies). The data consists of 50 examples of ecosocial innovations in Finland, Italy, Germany, Belgium and the UK. We investigate how ecosocial innovations interconnect ecological, economic and social goals and study the factors of their integrative crucial capacity. On the basis of qualitative data analysis and thematic categorisation of ecosocial innovations, we identify five integrative practices: diversity of activities, successful networking, addressing new livelihood, focus on food and explicit conceptual work on sustainability. Very often these integrative practices emerge as pragmatic solutions to local needs. For the participants, the ecosocial innovations can be relevant sources for new livelihood and wellbeing beyond the conventional labour market. Foremost, ecosocial innovations are valuable as forerunners for sustainability transition in practice.

The Role of Stakeholders in the Context of Responsible Innovation: A Meta-Synthesis

This paper contributes to the sustainability debate by analyzing the inclusion dimension in the responsible research and innovation (RRI) process. RRI is claimed to be an important tool for addressing global challenges and achieving sustainable development goals. While stakeholder involvement is considered to be imperative for the RRI process, there is little empirical evidence on (1) who the stakeholders participating in the RRI process are; (2) when stakeholders participate; (3) how stakeholders’ inclusion contributes to the sustainable innovation process; and (4) who the agents are who orchestrate stakeholders’ inclusion. This paper addresses the issue of stakeholder involvement through the lens of innovation management literature by attempting to link the innovation process to the responsibility concept. We employed a meta-synthesis of empirical studies of RRI to develop a deep understanding of stakeholder inclusion. After screening 139 articles, we identified seven empirical papers highlighting RRI process, mainly from projects nested in academic contexts. The findings indicate that multiple stakeholders are included at a late stage of the innovation process—during the market launch. To some extent, this allows for the adaptation of the solution, but such adaptations are limited in nature. This study also identifies the agents who stimulate stakeholder inclusion as being mainly academic researchers and researchers linked to multi-institutional projects. Our findings indicate that innovation management thinking is rarely applied in the governance of research and innovation projects ‘born’ in academia. We suggest enhancing RRI theoretical development by incorporating elements of innovation management such as early inclusion of users in the innovation process. For practitioners, this means an extension of the design space to allow early stakeholder inclusion in the innovation process to ensure responsible outcomes. We also identified avenues for future research. There is a need to systematically investigate which tools and frameworks for deliberate stakeholder inclusion are relevant at the various stages of the innovation and development process.

Drivers and Barriers to Clean Cooking: A Systematic Literature Review from a Consumer Behavior Perspective

A lack of access to clean energy and use of traditional cooking systems have severe negative effects on health, especially among women and children, and on the environment. Despite increasing attention toward this topic, few studies have explored the factors influencing consumers’ adoption of improved cooking stoves (ICS). This systematic literature review (n = 81) aims to identify the main drivers and barriers to clean cooking from a consumer perspective. In addition, it aims to define how consumers perceive ICS with respect to traditional stoves. Thematic analysis revealed seven factors that may act as drivers or barriers to ICS adoption: economic factors; socio-demographics; fuel availability; attitude toward technology; awareness of the risks of traditional cookstoves and the benefits of ICS; location; and social and cultural influences. Perceptions focused on four topics: convenience and uses, aesthetics, health-related impacts, and environmental impacts. This review contributes to understanding of consumer behavior with regards to ICS. The findings suggest that availability and affordability of technology are not enough to enhance ICS adoption. Rather, policy makers and managers should approach customers with a less technical and a more personalized approach that takes due consideration of a local context and its social and cultural dynamics.

The Unexplored Contribution of Responsible Innovation in Health to Sustainable Development Goals

Responsible Innovation in Health (RIH) represents an emerging Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) approach that could support not only the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) “Good health and well-being” but also other SDGs. Since few studies have conceptualized the relationships between RIH and the SDGs, our goal was to inductively develop a framework to identify knowledge gaps and areas for further reflections. Our exploratory study involved: (1) performing a web-based horizon scanning to identify health innovations with responsibility features; and (2) illustrating through empirical examples how RIH addresses the SDGs. A total of 105 innovations were identified: up to 43% were developed by non-profit organizations, universities or volunteers; 46.7% originated from the United States; and 64.5% targeted countries in Africa, Central and South America and South Asia. These innovations addressed health problems such as newborn care (15.5%), reduced mobility and limb amputation (14.5%), infectious diseases (10.9%), pregnancy and delivery care (9.1%) and proper access to care and drugs (7.3%). Several of these innovations were aligned with SDG10-Reduced inequalities (87%), SDG17-Partnerships for the goals (54%), SDG1-No poverty (15%) and SDG4-Quality education (11%). A smaller number of them addressed sustainable economic development goals such as SDG11-Sustainable cities and communities (9%) and SDG9-Industry and innovation (6%), and environmental sustainability goals such as SDG7-Affordable and clean energy (7%) and SDG6-Clean water and sanitation (5%). Three examples show how RIH combines entrepreneurship and innovation in novel ways to address the determinants of health, thereby contributing to SDG5 (Gender), SDG10 (Inequalities), SDG4 (Education) and SDG8 (Decent work), and indirectly supporting SDG7 (Clean energy) and SDG13 (Climate action). Further research should examine how alternative business models, social enterprises and social finance may support the STI approach behind RIH.