Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T14:18:57.238Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2020

Nadeera Ranabahu Open the ORCID record for Nadeera Ranabahu [Opens in a new window]
Nadeera Ranabahu*
Affiliation:
Department of Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship, University of Canterbury, Private bag 4800, Christchurch8140, New Zealand
*
*Corresponding author. Email: nadeera.ranabahu@canterbury.ac.nz
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

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.

Keywords

responsible innovationsocial challengessocial enterprisessustainable development goals
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 26 , Special Issue 6: Wicked Problems and Sustainable Development Goals , November 2020 , pp. 995 - 1013
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, R., Jeanrenaud, S., Bessant, J., Denyer, D., & Overy, P. (2016). Sustainability-oriented innovation: A systematic review. International Journal of Management Reviews, 18(2), 180–205. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12068CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Angaza (2018). How Angaza uses design thinking to impact millions [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.angaza.com/2018/09/15/how-angaza-uses-design-thinking-to-impact-millions/.Google Scholar
Angaza (2019a). About Angaza. Retrieved from https://www.angaza.com/about/.Google Scholar
Angaza (2019b). Building a values-driven data practice [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.angaza.com/2019/09/12/building-values-driven-data-practice/.Google Scholar
Angaza (2019c). 3 Global trends in last-mile distribution [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.angaza.com/2019/05/20/3-trends-last-mile-distribution/.Google Scholar
Angaza (2019d). Meet Rosina Norton: Angaza data scientist [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.angaza.com/2019/02/06/rosina-norton-off-grid-data-science/.Google Scholar
Bahena-Álvarez, I. L., Cordón-Pozo, E., & Delgado-Cruz, A. (2019). Social entrepreneurship in the conduct of responsible innovation: Analysis cluster in Mexican SMEs. Sustainability, 11(13), 3714. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11133714.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boons, F., Montalvo, C., Quist, J., & Wagner, M. (2013). Sustainable innovation, business models and economic performance: An overview. Journal of Cleaner Production, 45, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.08.013.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bos-Brouwers, H. E. J. (2010). Corporate sustainability and innovation in SMEs: Evidence of themes and activities in practice. Business Strategy and the Environment, 19(7), 417–435. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.652.Google Scholar
Brown, T. (2008). Design thinking. Harvard Business Review, 86(6), 84–92. Retrieved from https://fusesocial.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Design-Thinking.pdf.Google ScholarPubMed
Butcher, M. (2015). Angaza raises $4M to make clean energy affordable for world's poorest. TechCrunch, Verizon Media, 24 October. Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2015/10/23/angaza-raises-4m-to-make-clean-energy-affordable-for-worlds-poorest/.Google Scholar
Cajaiba-Santana, G. (2014). Social innovation: Moving the field forward. A conceptual framework. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 82, 42–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2013.05.008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chalmers, D. (2012). Social innovation: An exploration of the barriers faced by innovating organizations in the social economy. Local Economy, 28(1), 17–34. doi: 10.1177/0269094212463677.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chell, E., Nicolopoulou, K., & Karataş-Özkan, M. (2010). Social entrepreneurship and enterprise: International and innovation perspectives. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 22(6), 485–493. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2010.488396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corner, P. D., & Kearins, K. (2018). Scaling-up social enterprises: The effects of geographic context. Journal of Management & Organization, [Online first] 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2018.38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Desa, G., & Koch, J. L. (2014). Scaling social impact: Building sustainable social ventures at the base-of-the-pyramid. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 5(2), 146–174. https://doi.org/10.1080/19420676.2013.871325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finn, B. (2018). Discover Angaza's engineering constitution. Angaza [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.angaza.com/2018/11/13/engineering-constitution/.Google Scholar
Garcia, R., & Calantone, R. (2002). A critical look at technological innovation typology and innovativeness terminology: A literature review. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 19(2), 110–132. doi: 10.1111/1540-5885.1920110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geissdoerfer, M., Vladimirova, D., & Evans, S. (2018). Sustainable business model innovation: A review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 198, 401–416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.06.240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibbs, G. R. (2007). Analyzing qualitative data. The SAGE qualitative research kit. London, England: SAGE Publications Ltd. doi: 10.4135/9781849208574.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guo, C., & Bielefeld, W. (2014). Social entrepreneurship: An evidence-based approach to creating social value. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Halme, M., & Korpela, M. (2014). Responsible innovation toward sustainable development in small and medium-sized enterprises: A resource perspective. Business Strategy and the Environment, 23(8), 547–566. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.1801.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horne, J., Recker, M., Michelfelder, I., Jay, J., & Kratzer, J. (2020). Exploring entrepreneurship related to the sustainable development goals – Mapping new venture activities with semi-automated content analysis. Journal of Cleaner Production, 242, 118052. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118052.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ko, W. W., Liu, G., Wan Yusoff, W. T., & Che Mat, C. R. (2019). Social entrepreneurial passion and social innovation performance. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 48(4), 759–783. doi: 10.1177/0899764019830243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lehoux, P., Pacifico Silva, H., Pozelli Sabio, R., & Roncarolo, F. (2018). The unexplored contribution of responsible innovation in health to sustainable development goals. Sustainability, 10(11), 4015. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10114015.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, California: Sage Publications, Inc.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Littlewood, D. C., & Holt, D. (2018). How social enterprises can contribute to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) – A conceptual framework. In Apostolopoulos, N., Al-Dajani, H., Holt, D., Jones, P. & Newbery, R. (Eds.), Entrepreneurship and the sustainable development goals. Contemporary issues in entrepreneurship research (pp. 33–46). Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing Ltd.Google Scholar
Lubberink, R., Blok, V., Van Ophem, J., & Omta, O. (2017). Lessons for responsible innovation in the business context: A systematic literature review of responsible, social and sustainable innovation practices. Sustainability, 9(5), 721. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9050721.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lubberink, R., Blok, V., van Ophem, J., & Omta, O. (2019). Responsible innovation by social entrepreneurs: An exploratory study of values integration in innovations. Journal of Responsible Innovation, 6(2), 179–210. https://doi.org/10.1080/23299460.2019.1572374.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lubberink, R., Blok, V., van Ophem, J., van der Velde, G., & Omta, O. (2018). Innovation for society: Towards a typology of developing innovations by social entrepreneurs. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 9(1), 52–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/19420676.2017.1410212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
mPedigree (2018). How it works. Retrieved from https://goldkeys.org/how-it-works/.Google Scholar
mPedigree (2019). What we do. Retrieved from https://mpedigree.com/what-we-do/.Google Scholar
myAgro (2018). myAgro Quarterly report FY18Q4. Retrieved from https://www.myagro.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/FY18-Q4-Report-4-compressed.pdf.Google Scholar
myAgro (2017a). myAgro quarterly report FY18Q1. Retrieved from https://www.myagro.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/myAgro-FY18Q1-Report.pdf.Google Scholar
myAgro (2017b). myAgro 2017 annual report. Retrieved from https://www.myagro.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/2017-Annual-Report.compressed.pdf.Google Scholar
myAgro (2019a). What we do. Retrieved from https://www.myagro.org/what-we-do/.Google Scholar
myAgro (2019b). myAgro quarterly report FY2019 Q1. Retrieved from https://www.myagro.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/FY19-Q1-Report-compressed.pdf.Google Scholar
myAgro (2019c). myAgro quarterly report FY2019 Q2. Retrieved from https://www.myagro.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/FY19-Q2-Report_final.pdf.Google Scholar
Owen, R., Stilgoe, J., Macnaghten, P., Gorman, M., & Fisher, E., & Guston, D. (2013). A framework for responsible innovation. In Owen, R., Bessant, J. & Heintz, M. (Eds.), Responsible innovation: Managing the responsible emergence of science and innovation in society (pp. 27–50). West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pichlak, M. (2016). The innovation adoption process: A multidimensional approach. Journal of Management & Organization, 22(4), 476–494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pol, E., & Ville, S. (2009). Social innovation: Buzz word or enduring term? The Journal of Socio-Economics, 38(6), 878–885. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2009.02.011.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rinkinen, S., Oikarinen, T., & Melkas, H. (2016). Social enterprises in regional innovation systems: A review of Finnish regional strategies. European Planning Studies, 24(4), 723–741. doi: 10.1080/09654313.2015.1108394.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skoll Foundation (2019a). Skoll awards. Retrieved from http://skoll.org/about/skoll-awards/.Google Scholar
Skoll Foundation (2019b). mPedigree. Retrieved from http://skoll.org/organization/mpedigree/.Google Scholar
Stahl, B. C., Chatfield, K., Ten Holter, C., & Brem, A. (2019). Ethics in corporate research and development: Can responsible research and innovation approaches aid sustainability? Journal of Cleaner Production, 239, 118044. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118044.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stilgoe, J., Owen, R., & Macnaghten, P. (2013). Developing a framework for responsible innovation. Research Policy, 42(9), 1568–1580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2013.05.008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thorne, E. (2018). 5 Lessons in building a usable development board. Angaza [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.angaza.com/2019/08/08/development-board-5-lessons/.Google Scholar
Trott, P. (2016). Innovation management and new product development (6th ed.). Los Angeles: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
United Nations (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. A/RES/70/1. Retrieved from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/21252030%20Agenda%20for%20Sustainable%20Development%20web.pdf.Google Scholar
Van de Ven, A. H. (2017). The innovation journey: You can't control it, but you can learn to maneuver it. Innovation, 19(1), 39–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/14479338.2016.1256780.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Voegtlin, C., & Scherer, A. G. (2017). Responsible innovation and the innovation of responsibility: Governing sustainable development in a globalized world. Journal of Business Ethics, 143(2), 227–243. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2769-z.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
von Schomberg, R. (2011). Prospects for technology assessment in a framework of responsible research and innovation. In Dusseldorp, M. & Beecroft, R. (Eds.), Technikfolgen abschätzen lehren (pp. 39–61). Wiesbaden, Germany: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-93468-6_2.Google Scholar
Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Ranabahu supplementary material

Ranabahu supplementary material

Download Ranabahu supplementary material(File)
File 22.5 KB