Responsible Research and Innovation in Industry—Challenges, Insights and Perspectives
Abstract
:1. Background
- (1)
- Corporate philanthropy is highly visible and serves to return some of the proceeds of business in a way that is of public benefit. However, it rarely touches upon core business processes [13].
- (2)
- Resource efficiency has significantly lowered resource-intensity per unit of value-added. However, these efficiency gains are frequently offset by higher consumption rates and rebound effects [14].
- (3)
- Eco-friendly and ethically traded products have been successfully established in niche markets. However, they are generally not fit for developing mass markets and therefore fail to achieve economies of scale [15].
- (4)
2. Key Findings on RRI in Industry
3. Outlook to Future Research on RRI in Industry
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
- Carroll, A.B. Corporate social responsibility. Organ. Dyn. 2015, 44, 87–96. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Montiel, I.; Delgado-Ceballos, J. Defining and Measuring Corporate Sustainability. Organ. Environ. 2014, 27, 113–139. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ferrero, I.; Sison, A.J.G. A quantitative analysis of authors, schools and themes in virtue ethics articles in business ethics and management journals (1980–2011). Bus. Ethics Eur. Rev. 2014, 23, 375–400. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Kolk, A. The social responsibility of international business: From ethics and the environment to CSR and sustainable development. J. World Bus. 2016, 51, 23–34. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Starik, M.; Kanashiro, P. Toward a Theory of Sustainability Management. Organ. Environ. 2013, 26, 7–30. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Porter, M.E.; Kramer, M.R. Creating shared value. Harv. Bus. Rev. 2011, 89, 62–77. [Google Scholar]
- Whiteman, G.; Walker, B.; Perego, P. Planetary Boundaries: Ecological Foundations for Corporate Sustainability. J. Manag. Stud. 2013, 50, 307–336. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Bouglet, J.; Joffre, O.; Simon, E. How to reconcile business with sustainable development: An innovation approach. Soc. Bus. Rev. 2012, 7, 212–222. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Boons, F.; Lüdeke-Freund, F. Business models for sustainable innovation: State-of-the-art and steps towards a research agenda. J. Clean. Prod. 2013, 45, 9–19. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Barnett, M.L. The Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility. Bus. Soc. 2017, 4, 000765031666004. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- van der Byl, C.A.; Slawinski, N. Embracing Tensions in Corporate Sustainability. Organ. Environ. 2015, 28, 54–79. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Martinuzzi, A.; Krumay, B. The Good, the Bad, and the Successful—How Corporate Social Responsibility Leads to Competitive Advantage and Organizational Transformation. J. Chang. Manag. 2013, 13, 424–443. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Gautier, A.; Pache, A.-C. Research on Corporate Philanthropy: A Review and Assessment. J. Bus. Ethics 2015, 126, 343–369. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Figge, F.; Young, W.; Barkemeyer, R. Sufficiency or efficiency to achieve lower resource consumption and emissions? The role of the rebound effect. J. Clean. Prod. 2014, 69, 216–224. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Vermeulen, W.J.V. Self-Governance for Sustainable Global Supply Chains: Can It Deliver the Impacts Needed? Bus. Strat. Env. 2015, 24, 73–85. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Bromley, P.; Powell, W.W. From Smoke and Mirrors to Walking the Talk: Decoupling in the Contemporary World. Acad. Manag. Ann. 2012, 6, 483–530. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Baumgartner, R.J. Managing Corporate Sustainability and CSR: A Conceptual Framework Combining Values, Strategies and Instruments Contributing to Sustainable Development. Corp. Soc. Responsib. Environ. Manag. 2014, 21, 258–271. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Schroeder, D.; Ladikas, M. Towards principled Responsible Research and Innovation: Employing the Difference Principle in funding decisions. J. Responsible Innov. 2015, 2, 169–183. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Grunwald, A. Responsible Innovation: Bringing together Technology Assessment, Applied Ethics, and STS research. Enterp. Work Innov. Stud. 2011, 7, 9–31. [Google Scholar]
- von Schomberg, R. Prospects for technology assessment in a framework of responsible research and innovation. In Technikfolgen Abschätzen Lehren; Dusseldorp, M., Beecroft, R., Eds.; VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften: Wiesbaden, Germany, 2012; pp. 39–61. [Google Scholar]
- Griffy-Brown, C.; Earp, B.D.; Rosas, O. Technology and the Good Society. Technol. Soc. 2018. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Rip, A. The past and future of RRI. Life Sci. Soc. Policy 2014, 10, 17. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Zwart, H.; Landeweerd, L.; van Rooij, A. Adapt or perish? Assessing the recent shift in the European research funding arena from ‘ELSA’ to ‘RRI’. Life Sci. Soc. Policy 2014, 10, 11. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Stilgoe, J.; Owen, R.; Macnaghten, P. Developing a framework for responsible innovation. Res. Policy 2013, 42, 1568–1580. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Stahl, B.; Obach, M.; Yaghmaei, E.; Ikonen, V.; Chatfield, K.; Brem, A. The Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) Maturity Model: Linking Theory and Practice. Sustainability 2017, 9, 1036. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Herrera, M.E.B. Creating competitive advantage by institutionalizing corporate social innovation. J. Bus. Res. 2015, 68, 1468–1474. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Edelman. Edelman Trust Barometer: Global Results. 2018. Available online: https://www.edelman.com/trust-barometer (accessed on 5 March 2018).
- Bies, R. At the crossroads of trust and distrust: Skepticism and ambivalence toward business. In Public Trust in Business; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, 2014; pp. 86–115. [Google Scholar]
- Gallego-Álvarez, I.; Manuel Prado-Lorenzo, J.; García-Sánchez, I.-M. Corporate social responsibility and innovation: A resource-based theory. Manag. Dec. 2011, 49, 1709–1727. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Brem, A.; Nylund, P.A.; Hitchen, E.L. Open innovation and intellectual property rights. Manag. Dec. 2017, 55, 1285–1306. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Blok, V.; Hoffmans, L.; Wubben, E.F.M. Stakeholder engagement for responsible innovation in the private sector: Critical issues and management practices. J. Chain Netw. Sci. 2015, 15, 147–164. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Goodman, J.; Korsunova, A.; Halme, M. Our Collaborative Future: Activities and Roles of Stakeholders in Sustainability-Oriented Innovation. Bus. Strat. Env. 2017, 26, 731–753. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Visser, W. The Age of Responsibility: CSR 2.0, 2nd ed.; Wiley: New York, NY, USA, 2011. [Google Scholar]
- Varadarajan, R. Innovating for sustainability: A framework for sustainable innovations and a model of sustainable innovations orientation. J. Acad. Mark. Sci. 2017, 45, 14–36. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Timmermans, J.; Yaghmaei, E.; Stahl, B.C.; Brem, A. Research and innovation processes revisited–networked responsibility in industry. Sustainability 2017, 8, 307–334. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Scholten, V.E.; Blok, V. Foreword: Responsible innovation in the private sector. J. Chain Netw. Sci. 2015, 15, 101–105. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Adams, R.; Jeanrenaud, S.; Bessant, J.; Denyer, D.; Overy, P. Sustainability-oriented Innovation: A Systematic Review. Int. J. Manag. Rev. 2016, 18, 180–205. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Franceschini, S.; Faria, L.G.D.; Jurowetzki, R. Unveiling scientific communities about sustainability and innovation. A bibliometric journey around sustainable terms. J. Clean. Prod. 2016, 127, 72–83. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Fisher, E.; Rip, A. Responsible Innovation: Multi-Level Dynamics and Soft Intervention Practices. In Responsible Innovation: Managing the Responsible Emergence of Science and Innovation in Society; Owen, R., Ed.; Wiley: Chichester, UK, 2013; pp. 165–183. [Google Scholar]
- Owen, R. Responsible Innovation: Managing the Responsible Emergence of Science and Innovation in Society; Wiley: Chichester, UK, 2013. [Google Scholar]
- Blok, V.; Lemmens, P. The Emerging Concept of Responsible Innovation. In Responsible Innovation 2; Koops, B.-J., Oosterlaken, I., Romijn, H., Swierstra, T., van den Hoven, J., Eds.; Springer International Publishing: Cham, Switzerland, 2015; pp. 19–35. [Google Scholar]
- Iatridis, K.; Schroeder, D. Responsible Research and Innovation in Industry; Springer International Publishing: Cham, Switzerland, 2016. [Google Scholar]
- Chatfield, K.; Borsella, E.; Mantovani, E.; Porcari, A.; Stahl, B. An Investigation into Risk Perception in the ICT Industry as a Core Component of Responsible Research and Innovation. Sustainability 2017, 9, 1424. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Garst, J.; Blok, V.; Jansen, L.; Omta, O. Responsibility versus Profit: The Motives of Food Firms for Healthy Product Innovation. Sustainability 2017, 9, 2286. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Auer, A.; Jarmai, K. Implementing Responsible Research and Innovation Practices in SMEs: Insights into Drivers and Barriers from the Austrian Medical Device Sector. Sustainability 2018, 10, 17. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Lubberink, R.; Blok, V.; van Ophem, J.; Omta, O. Lessons for Responsible Innovation in the Business Context: A Systematic Literature Review of Responsible, Social and Sustainable Innovation Practices. Sustainability 2017, 9, 721. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Dreyer, M.; Chefneux, L.; Goldberg, A.; Heimburg, J.von; Patrignani, N.; Schofield, M.; Shilling, C. Responsible Innovation: A Complementary View from Industry with Proposals for Bridging Different Perspectives. Sustainability 2017, 9, 1719. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- van de Poel, I.; Asveld, L.; Flipse, S.; Klaassen, P.; Scholten, V.; Yaghmaei, E. Company Strategies for Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI): A Conceptual Model. Sustainability 2017, 9, 2045. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Gurzawska, A.; Mäkinen, M.; Brey, P. Implementation of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) Practices in Industry: Providing the Right Incentives. Sustainability 2017, 9, 1759. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Chatfield, K.; Iatridis, K.; Stahl, B.; Paspallis, N. Innovating Responsibly in ICT for Ageing: Drivers, Obstacles and Implementation. Sustainability 2017, 9, 971. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Pavie, X.; Egal, J. Innovation and Responsibility: A Managerial Approach to the Integration of Responsibility in a Disruptive Innovation Model. In Responsible Innovation 1; van den Hoven, J., Doorn, N., Swierstra, T., Koops, B.-J., Romijn, H., Eds.; Springer: Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2014; pp. 53–66. [Google Scholar]
- Osagie, E.R.; Wesselink, R.; Blok, V.; Mulder, M. Contextualizing Individual Competencies for Managing the Corporate Social Responsibility Adaptation Process. Bus. Soc. 2017, 34, 000765031667627. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Dabic, M.; Colovic, A.; Lamotte, O.; Painter-Morland, M.; Brozovic, S. Industry-specific CSR: Analysis of 20 years of research. Eur. Bus. Rev. 2016, 28, 250–273. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Major Research Questions | Important Themes | Contributions |
---|---|---|
What are motivations to integrate RRI in industry? | ● Managing ethical and societal risks of innovation ● Achieving better alignment with end user needs and resulting profits, better image ● Public recognition and consumer awareness, employee engagement ● Importance of instrumental motives (such as seeking profits, counter-acting regulatory pressure through voluntary self-regulation, or the desire to maintain legitimacy) | Chatfield et al. [43] Chatfield et al. [50] Gurzawska et al. [49] Garst et al. [44] |
What is the state of implementation of RRI in industry? | ● RRI Maturity Model for determining level of RRI implementation ● Companies are largely unaware of the RRI concept, but implement RRI practices at an operational level ● Critical decision-making points in product innovation processes aiming at socially responsible outcomes | Stahl et al. [25] Auer and Jarmai [45] Garst et al. [44] |
What are responsible practices in innovation? | ● Measuring RRI through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) ● Anticipating innovation outcomes ● Including different stakeholders into innovation processes | Van de Poel et al. [48] Auer and Jarmai [45] |
Who are the stakeholders involved in RRI? | ● Internal stakeholders (employees, owners, company representatives and managers) ● External stakeholders (suppliers, customers, CSOs, governments, creditors, shareholders) | Gurzawska et al. [49] |
Which factors have a bearing on RRI implementation in industry? | ● Regulatory framework, availability of financial resources, market-orientation, customer knowledge, organisational structure and knowledge among innovation partners ● Corporate culture, awareness of RRI, ethical codes of conduct, sector ● Incentives | Auer and Jarmai [45] Chatfield et al. [50] Gurzawska et al. [49] |
How does RRI relate to adjacent discourses on responsibility of/in business? | ● RRI governance principles ● Need for better alignment of RRI concepts, tools and methodologies with current industrial practices ● Distinction between Responsible Research and Responsible Innovation ● Purpose, process, and product aspects of responsibility | Lubberink et al. [46] Dreyer et al. [47] Stahl et al. [25] |
© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Martinuzzi, A.; Blok, V.; Brem, A.; Stahl, B.; Schönherr, N. Responsible Research and Innovation in Industry—Challenges, Insights and Perspectives. Sustainability 2018, 10, 702. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030702
Martinuzzi A, Blok V, Brem A, Stahl B, Schönherr N. Responsible Research and Innovation in Industry—Challenges, Insights and Perspectives. Sustainability. 2018; 10(3):702. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030702
Chicago/Turabian StyleMartinuzzi, André, Vincent Blok, Alexander Brem, Bernd Stahl, and Norma Schönherr. 2018. "Responsible Research and Innovation in Industry—Challenges, Insights and Perspectives" Sustainability 10, no. 3: 702. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030702