Abstract
While the concept of Responsible Innovation is increasingly common among researchers and policy makers, it is still unknown what it means in a business context. This study aims to identify which aspects of Responsible Innovation are conceptually similar and dissimilar from social- and sustainable innovation. Our conceptual analysis is based on literature reviews of responsible-, social-, and sustainable innovation. The insights obtained are used for conceptualising Responsible Innovation in a business context. The main conclusion is that Responsible Innovation differs from social- and sustainable innovation as it: (1) also considers possible detrimental implications of innovation, (2) includes a mechanism for responding to uncertainties associated with innovation and (3) achieves a democratic governance of the innovation. However, achieving the latter will not be realistic in a business context. The results of this study are relevant for researchers, managers and policy makers who are interested in responsible innovation in the business context.
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Notes
- 1.
For more information regarding the history of social innovation as a scientific concept and how different scientific communities influenced the scientific discourse on the concept, please see Choi and Majumdar (2014) and Van Der Have and Rubalcaba (2016). Since this goes beyond the aim of this chapter, it is not thoroughly discussed here.
- 2.
For more information regarding the history of sustainable innovation as a scientific concept and how different scientific communities influenced the scientific discourse on the concept, please see Franceschini et al. (2016) and Schiederig et al. (2012). Since this goes beyond the aim of this chapter, it will not be thoroughly discussed here.
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Lubberink, R., Blok, V., van Ophem, J., Omta, O. (2017). A Framework for Responsible Innovation in the Business Context: Lessons from Responsible-, Social- and Sustainable Innovation. In: Asveld, L., van Dam-Mieras, R., Swierstra, T., Lavrijssen, S., Linse, K., van den Hoven, J. (eds) Responsible Innovation 3. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64834-7_11
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