Corporate Social Innovation in Developing Countries

Abstract

Although corporate social innovation studies in developing countries acknowledge the importance of firm resources and capabilities for attaining social goals, they overlook the way in which these interact with broader institutions to generate successful outcomes. We address this gap by exploring the relationship between firm resources-capabilities and institutions that is conducive to meeting both business and social interests in developing countries. By employing a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis of corporate social innovation projects performed by joint ventures of Dutch SMEs and their local partners in developing countries, we show that firm resources and/or capabilities complement strong institutions in these countries. Corporate social innovation can also be facilitated by firm capabilities in running highly legitimate projects that substitute institutional voids in these economies, attesting to multiple paths that corporations can take to achieve social innovation.

How do grand challenges determine, drive and influence the innovation efforts of for‐profit firms? A multidimensional analysis

“…As this research has been mainly conducted at the macro level (national policies and various institutional levels), the involvement of governments (in partnership with for‐profits, foundations, and research organizations) at the national, regional, and local levels promotes entrepreneurship and the growth of nascent industries (Zabala‐Iturriagagoitia, 2021). We found evidence that interactions between firms and broader institutions facilitate successful outcomes as the former's resources‐capabilities compensate for any institutional voids and enable the useful delivery of any projects aimed at addressing grand challenges (Saka‐Helmhout et al, 2021). We found that such research has foundations in the resource‐based view (RBV) and the knowledge‐based view (KBV) and institutional theories.…”

“…We found that such research has foundations in the resource‐based view (RBV) and the knowledge‐based view (KBV) and institutional theories. There is also the argument that innovation policies play a key role in these activities through knowledge transfer, positive spillovers, and innovation‐oriented public procurement (Saka‐Helmhout et al, 2021; Zabala‐Iturriagagoitia, 2021). Research in this cluster is concentrated within the European continent and within the health and UAV manufacturing industry sectors.…”

Tackling exigent grand challenges through corporate social innovation: Evidence from the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…The latter can be found in both developed (Battaglia et al, 2021) and developing economies (Crupi et al, 2022; Peerally et al, 2022). These differences might be attributed to the weak institutional environments prevalent in developing economies (Peerally et al, 2022; Saka‐Helmhout et al, 2021).…”

Innovation hub a venture for students’ entrepreneurial talents: a case of college of business education

“…According to Surana, Singh & Sagar (2020), there is a need for developing a clear framework to emphasize the need of defining the start-ups' goals, coordination, embrace the performance monitoring systems and multi-phase capacity buildings. The practices in developed countries such as Italy proves that incubation and innovation start-up are significantly less in job creation although have a positive effect on increasing sales revenues in long terms and attainment of societal goals (Lukeš, Longo & Zouhar, 2019;Saka-Helmhout et al, 2021). Yet, star-ups, incubation and innovation hubs are considerable mechanisms employed in developing countries for implementing Sustainable and Development Goals (SDGs).…”