Abstract
Previous research by the authors has explored small-scale innovations in poor craft producers’ clusters in villages in the Red River Delta in northern Vietnam. Although these innovations resulted in value creation and increased incomes, they also often gave rise to negative environmental or social consequences that were in conflict with broader development goals, such as poverty alleviation and sustainable development. Innovation that meets these goals is broadly termed responsible innovation and increasingly made explicit in western innovation debates. This chapter seeks to conceptualize responsible innovation in a very different context; that of informally organized small producers’ clusters in a developing country (Vietnam). We employed grounded theory to investigate the outcomes of innovations with a view to developing a set of objective operational criteria for evaluating responsible innovation. However, we found that such an ‘outcomes’ approach posed epistemological problems when it came to defining criteria and objectively measurable threshold values. We also found that objective measurements imposed a normative framework on the communities we were studying: one that villagers did not necessarily recognize or concur with. As an alternative, we came to conceptualize responsible innovation from a behavioral perspective and modeled it as a dynamic societal process that involves innovators acknowledging responsibility in the resolution of societal conflicts resulting from the harmful outcomes of innovation. This model enabled us to differentiate between responsible and what it is not at the village level.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
The study was made possible by a grant for a research programme on responsible innovation from the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) that was jointly carried out by Tilburg University and Hanoi University of Technology (Vietnam).
Submitted version 22 Sept. 2012.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
Micro and small entrepreneurs in Bat Trang typically have a home-based workshop, with between 1–5 (micro) or 5–20 (small) employees, often family members employed under informal contracts.
References
Adcock, Robert, and David Collier. 2001. Measurement validity: A shared standard for qualitative and quantitative research. American Political Science Review 95(3): 529–546.
Alkire, Sabina. 2007. Choosing dimensions: The capability approach and multidimensional poverty. Working Paper No. 88. Chronic Poverty Research Centre. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1646411.
Argyris, Chris, and Donald Schön. 1978. Organizational learning: A theory of action perspective. Reading: Addison Wesley.
Bansal, Pratima, and Kendall Roth. 2000. Why companies go green: A model of ecological responsiveness. The Academy of Management Journal 43(4): 717–736.
Barbier, Edward, and Thomas Homer-Dixon. 1996. Resource scarcity, institutional adaptation, and technical innovation: Can poor countries attain endogenous growth? Occasional Paper Project on Environment, Population and Security. Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science and the University of Toronto.
Barendrecht, Marinus. 2009. Best practices for an affordable and sustainable dispute system: A toolbox for microjustice. Working Paper No. 003/2009. Tilburg: Tilburg University Legal Studies.
Bartlett, Robert V., and Priya A. Kurian. 1999. The theory of environmental impact assessment: Implicit models of policy making. Policy and Politics 27(4): 415–433.
Beers, Pieter J., Jifke Sol and Arjen Wals. 2010. Social learning in a multi-actor innovation context. Ninth European IFSA symposium, building sustainable rural futures—The added value of systems approaches in times of change and uncertainty, Vienna, Austria, 4–7 July 2010.
Bell, Simon, and Stephen Morse. 2003. Measuring sustainability: Learning by doing. London: Earthscan.
Bentham, J. 1948 [1789]. An introduction to the principles of morals and legislation. Oxford: Hafner Press.
Bezençon, Valéry, and Sam Blili. 2010. Ethical products and consumer involvement: What’s new? European Journal of Marketing 44(9/10): 1305–1321.
Bhattacharyya, Rita, and Sangita Kohli. 2007. Target marketing to children – The ethical aspect. International marketing conference on marketing & society, 8–10 Apr 2007, IIMK.
Bigsten, Arne, and Jörgen Levin. 2000. Growth, income distribution, and poverty: A review. Working Papers in Economics 32. Göteborg: Department of Economics, Göteborg University.
Birkinshaw, J., G. Hamel, and M. Mol. 2008. Management innovation. Academy of Management Review 33(4): 825–845.
Blackman, A., and G. Bannister. 1998. Community pressure and clean technology in the informal sector: An econometric analysis of the adoption of propane by Traditional Mexican Brickmakers. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 35(1): 1–21. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jeem.1998.101.
Bowie, Norman. 1999. Business ethics, A Kantian perspective. Oxford: Blackwell Publisher.
Brahm, E. 2003. Conflict stages. In Beyond intractability, ed. G. Burgess and H. Burgess. Boulder: Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado.
Brundtland, G. 1987. Our common future: The world commission on environment and development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Buscaglia, Edgardo, and William Ratliff. 2000. Law and economics in developing countries. Palo Alto: Hoover Institution Press.
Chang, Ching-Hsun. 2011. Green innovation performance: Antecedent and consequence. Technology Management in the Energy Smart World (PICMET), proceedings of PICMET’11, 1–8. Portland (USA): Portland State University.
Crowfoot, James, and Julia Wondolleck. 1990. Environmental disputes: Community involvement in conflict resolution. Washington, DC: Island Press.
Curtis, Fred. 2003. Eco-localism and sustainability. Ecological Economics 46(1): 83–102.
Davis, Keith, and Robert Blomstrom. 1975. Business and society: Environment and responsibility. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Dosi, Giovanni. 1988. Chapter 10: The nature of the innovation process. In Technical change and economic theory, ed. G. Dosi, C. Freeman, R. Nelson, G. Silverberg, and L. Soete. London/New York: Pinter Publishers.
Douglas, D., and G. Papadopoulos. 2012. Citizen engineer. New York: Prentice Hall.
Drucker, Peter. 1981. What is business ethics? The Public Interest Spring 63: 18–36.
Earle, Mary, and Richard Earle. 2001. Creating new foods the product developer’s guide – A systematic approach to managing the development of commercial food products. London: Chadwick House Group Ltd.
Elkington, John. 1999. Cannibals with Forks, The triple bottom line of the 21st century business. Oxford: Capstone Publishing Limited.
Eve, R.A., S. Horsfall, and M.E. Lee (eds.). 1997. Chaos, complexity and sociology. Myths models and theories. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Ewing, Keith. 2006. International labour standards. In Global industrial relations, ed. M. Morely, P. Gunnigle, and David G. Collings. London: Routledge.
Frederick, William. 1960. The growing concern over business responsibility. California Management Review 2(4): 54–61.
Frederiksen, Claus. 2010. The relation between policies concerning corporate social responsibility (CSR) and philosophical moral theories – An empirical investigation. Journal of Business Ethics 93(3): 357–371. doi:10.1007/s10551-009-0226-6.
Freeman, R. Edward. 1984. Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.
Fiksel, Joseph. 1996. Design for environment: Creating eco-efficient products and processes. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Gladwell, Malcolm. 2000. The tipping point: How little things can make a big difference. Boston: Back Bay Books.
Glaser, Barney G., and Anselm L. Strauss. 1967. The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago: Aldine Publishing Company.
Glasl, F. 1999. Confronting conflict: A first-aid kit for handling conflict. Gloucestershire: Howthorn Press.
Glewwe, Paul W. 1990. Identifying the poor in developing countries: Do different definitions matter? World Development 18(6): 803–814.
Hamel, Gary. 2006. Why, what, and how of management innovation. Harvard Business Review 84(2): 72–84.
Harris, Jonathan M., Timothy A. Wise, Kevin P. Gallagher, and Neva R. Goodwin (eds.). 2001. A survey of sustainable development: Social and economic dimensions. Washington, DC: Island Press.
Hart, Stewart. 2007. Capitalism at the crossroads – Aligning business, earth and humanity, 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River: Wharton School Publishing.
Hasan, H., and C. Dwyer. 2010. Was the Copenhagen summit doomed from the start? Some insights from Green IS research. Available at http://csis.pace.edu/~dwyer/research/HasanDwyerAMCIS2010.pdf. Accessed 15 Aug 2010.
Henriques, Adrian, and Julie Richardson. 2004. The triple bottom line – Does it add up? – Assessing the sustainability of business and CSR. London: Earthscan Publications Ltd.
Hertwich, Edgar. 2005. Life cycle approaches to sustainable consumption: A critical review. Environmental Science and Technology 39(13): 4673–4684. doi:10.1021/es0497375.
Hopwood, Bill, Mary Mellor, and Geoff O’Brien. 2005. Sustainable development: Mapping different approaches. Sustainable Development 13: 38–52. doi:10.1002/sd.244.
Idemudia, U., and U. Ite. 2006. Corporate–community relations in Nigeria’s oil industry: Challenges and imperatives. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 13(4): 194–206.
Jitsuchon, Somchai. 2001. What is poverty and how to measure it? TDRI Quarterly Review 16(4): 7–11.
Kant, I. 1786. Groundwork for the metaphysics of morals (original German title: Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kant, I. 1787 [1781]. Critique of pure reason (original German title: Kritik der reinen Vernunft). New York/Toronto: St. Martin’s Press/Macmillan.
Kaplinsky, Ralph. 2000. Spreading the gains from globalisation: What can be learned from value chain analysis? Journal of Development Studies 37(2): 117–146.
Keoleian, Gregory A., and Dan Menerey. 1994. Sustainable development by design: Review of life cycle design and related approaches. Air and Waste 44: 645–668.
Kline, S.J., and N. Rosenberg. 1986. An overview of innovation. In The positive sum strategy: Harnessing technology for economic growth, ed. R. Landau and N. Rosenberg. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Kolb, D. 1984. Experiential learning. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.
Lähdesmäk, Merja, and Timo Suutari. 2012. Keeping at arm’s length or searching for social proximity? Corporate social responsibility as a reciprocal process between small businesses and the local community. Journal of Business Ethics 108: 481–493. doi:10.1007/s10551-011-1104-6.
Lindfelt, L.-L., and J.-Å. Törnroos. 2006. Ethics and value creation in business research: Comparing two approaches. European Journal of Marketing 40(3/4): 328–351.
London, Ted. 2007. A base-of-the-pyramid perspective on poverty alleviation. Growing Inclusive Markets Working Paper Series. Washington, DC: United Nations Development Program.
Mayers, J. 2000. Company–community forestry partnerships: A growing phenomenon. Unasylva 51(200): 33–41.
McDonough, William, and Michael Braungart. 2002. Cradle to cradle: Remaking the way we make things. New York: North Point Press.
Mill, J.S. 1859. On liberty. London: John W. Parker and Son.
Mill, J.S. 1979 [1863]. Utilitarianism. London: Collins.
Mills, C.W. 1959. The sociological imagination. London: Oxford University Press.
Mizik, N., and R. Jacobson. 2002. Trading off value creation and value appropriation: The financial implications of shifts in strategic emphasis. Working Paper [02–114]. Cambridge, MA: Marketing Science Institute (MSI).
Najam, Adil. 1999. World Business Council for Sustainable Development: The greening of business or a greenwash? In Yearbook of international co-operation on environment and development 1999/2000, ed. Helge Ole Bergesen, Georg Parmann, and Øystein B. Thommessen, 65–75. London: Earthscan Publications.
NWO. 2008. Responsible innovation, description of thematic programme. Den Haag: Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NOW).
Nicholls, Alex, and Charlotte Opal. 2004. Fair trade: Market-driven ethical consumption. London: Sage.
OECD. 2005. The measurement of scientific and technological activities – Proposed guidelines for collecting and interpreting technological innovation data. Paris: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
O’Riordan, T., and J. Cameron. 1994. Interpreting the precautionary principle. London: Earthscan Publications Ltd.
Pahl-Wostl, Claudia. 2006. The importance of social learning in restoring the multifunctionality of rivers and floodplains. Ecology & Society 11(1): Art.10.
Pianta, Mario. 2005. Innovation and employment. In The Oxford handbook of innovation, ed. J. Fagerberg, D. Mowery, and R. Nelson, 568–598. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Porter, Michael. 1990. The competitive advantage of nations. London: Macmillan.
Powell, Thomas C. 1995. Total quality management as competitive advantage: A review and empirical study. Strategic Management Journal 16(1): 15–37.
Prahalad, C.K. 2005. Fortune at the bottom of the pyramid – Eradicating poverty through profits. Upper Saddle River: Wharton School Publishing.
Rabl, A. 1996. Discounting of long-term costs: What would future generations prefer us to do? Ecological Economics 17(3): 137–145.
Reid, David. 1995. Sustainable development: An introductory guide. London: Earthscan Publications Ltd.
Roome, N.J., and F. Boons. 2005. Sustainable enterprise in clusters of innovation. In Corporate environmental strategy and competitive advantage, ed. S. Sharma and A. Aragón-Correa. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Roome, N.J., and M. Hinnells. 1993. Environmental actors in the management of new product development: Theoretical framework and some empirical evidence from the white goods industry. Business Strategy and the Environment 2(2): 12–27.
Sayer, J., and B. Campbell. 2004. The science of sustainable development – Local livelihoods and the global environment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schacter, M., and E. Marques. 2000. Altruism, opportunism and points in between trends and practices in corporate social responsibility. Ottawa: Institute on Governance.
Schmitz, Herbert. 1999. Collective efficiency and increasing returns. Cambridge Journal of Economics 23: 465–483.
Schumpeter, Joseph. 1934. The theory of economic development. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Sen, Amartya. 1999. Development as freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Simon, Herbert (ed.). 1957. A behavioral model of rational choice. In Models of man, social and rational: Mathematical essays on rational human behavior in a social setting, 241–261. New York: Wiley.
Stieb, J. 2009. Assessing Freeman’s stakeholder theory. Journal of Business Ethics 87(3): 401–414.
Stigliz, Joseph, and Andrew Charlton. 2005. Fair trade for all: How trade can promote development. New York: Oxford University Press.
Spreckley, Freer. 1981. Social audit – A management tool for co-operative working. Leeds: Beechwood College.
Tether, Bruce S. 2003. What is innovation? – Approaches to distinguishing new products and processes from existing products and processes. ESRC Centre for Research on Innovation and Competition (CRIC) Working Paper No. 12. Manchester (UK): University of Manchester.
Trott, Paul. 2005. Innovation management and new product development. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
Ubois, Jeff. 2010. Responsible innovation/sustainable innovation. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association, November 2010. Available at http://issuu.com/fondazionebassetti/docs/jeff-innovation-aaa-2010-2. Accesses 15 Aug 2012.
United Nations. 1992. Rio declaration on environment and development. Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3–14 June 1992, UN Report A/CONF.151/26.
Vachona, Stephan, and Zhimin Maoc. 2008. Linking supply chain strength to sustainable development: A country-level analysis. Journal of Cleaner Production 16(15): 1552–1560.
Valle, Vicente. 2000. Chaos, complexity and deterrence. National War College. Available from http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ndu/valle.pdf. Accessed 15 Aug 2012.
Voeten, Jaap, Job de Haan, and Gerard de Groot. 2011. Is that innovation? Assessing examples of revitalized economic dynamics among clusters of small producers in Northern Vietnam. In Entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic development, ed. Adam Szirmai, Wim Naudé, and Micheline Goedhuys. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Voeten, Jaap, Nigel Roome, Gerard de Groot, and Job de Haan. 2012. Resolving environmental and social conflicts – Responsible innovation in small producers’ clusters in northern Vietnam. In A stakeholder approach to corporate social responsibility: Pressures, conflicts, reconciliation, ed. Adam Lindgreen, Philip Kotler, Joëlle Vanhamme, and François Maon. Aldershot: Gower Publishing.
Wagle, U. 2002. Rethinking poverty: Definition and measurement. International Social Science Journal 54: 155–165. doi:10.1111/1468-2451.00366.
Waller, W.S., and W.L. Felix. 1989. Judgments under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science 188: 1124–1131.
Warner, M. 2003. Culture and management in Asia. London: Routledge.
Williamson, Oliver. 1986. The economic institutions of capitalism. New York: Free Press.
World Bank. 2000. World development report 2000/2001 – Attacking poverty: Opportunity, empowerment, and security. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
World Bank. 2008. Growth report: Strategies for sustained growth and inclusive development. Washington, DC: Commission on Growth and Development, The World Bank.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Voeten, J., Roome, N., Huong, N.T., de Groot, G., de Haan, J. (2014). Conceptualizing Responsible Innovation in Craft Villages in Vietnam. In: van den Hoven, J., Doorn, N., Swierstra, T., Koops, BJ., Romijn, H. (eds) Responsible Innovation 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8956-1_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8956-1_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-017-8955-4
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-8956-1
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawPhilosophy and Religion (R0)