Dynamics of Trust in Institutions, the Legitimacy of the Social Order, and Social Open Innovation

Abstract

This article analyses the dynamics of trust in institutions, which underpin the legitimacy of social order, on the basis of a study of the developed Arctic region during the period 2006–2018. The authors considered the principal theoretical concepts on which the study of trust, the well-being of citizens, the assessment of security and compliance with the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens is to be based. It is assumed that the legitimacy of the social order consists in a state where people not only trust specific institutions, but also enjoy a sense of security from threats and the ability to exercise basic rights and freedoms in the presence of a competent authority to protect them in case of violations. The dynamics of the security of the inhabitants of the region, associated with an increase in the level of their well-being, are considered. The structure for retaining the legitimacy of the social order is demonstrated on the basis of a number of indices and model calculations. Configuration analysis was carried out to support the construction of multidimensional models. It was concluded that there has been a dramatic collapse in the social activity of the inhabitants of the Arctic region bordering on social apathy. It is shown that, during the period under study, trust in local authorities significantly declined, while the importance attributed to respecting private property rights increased. Trust in social institutions is shown to be significantly lower than trust in government institutions, contradicting the situation in developed countries. It is recommended that more attention be paid to the functioning of local and municipal authorities governing the Arctic region, who are much more aware of the needs of the inhabitants since they are connected by much denser social ties. The authors substantiate the need to introduce social innovation that allows to diversify communication channels between the government and the public, meet unsatisfied social needs that are not solved by existing institutions and contribute to building trust between different participants.

Consumer Trust in Quality and Safety of Food Products in Western Siberia

“…The index of trust in sales operators in quality and safety of food products turns out to be higher than the index of trust in all regional government institutions (by a small margin). Evaluation of trust in the governor (the traditional leader of trust among regional institutions) [41], the regional government, and the business community are compared in Table 1 (with a larger margin, and lower overall estimates). This might signify that society shows unanimity in terms of trust in quality and safety of food.…”

The Efficacy of the Retirement Pension Provision System: Modeling, and Assessing of the Case of Kazakhstan

“…It should be noted that the deep problems and reform of the pension system in Kazakhstan and the rapid acceleration of changes in the existing economic conditions complicate the real achievement of its effectiveness in practice. In view of this, attention should be focused on the need for innovative development of funded pension provision in the country [54,55]. In view of the functioning of the pension system of Kazakhstan in conditions of fundamental and institutional problems that cannot be quickly resolved, the need to use an open innovation strategy has been determined.…”

“…Since open innovations take a variety of forms, the main effect of their implementation in the pension system of Kazakhstan should be based on innovative start-ups for the implementation of business models of the future, ensuring they can achieve financial security for life and protecting the value of participants' pension contributions from market fluctuations by transferring them to funds with a lower level of risk as we approach the date of retirement. In modern conditions, the pension system is entering a new stage of innovation, when the sources of the innovative potential of pension provision are outside this system [55]. Open innovation strategies based on the principles of individual decision-making and personal lifestyles can also help diversify the pension investments of the population in appropriate funds in order to best generate an appropriate level of pension benefits when people retire.…”

Advantages and Constraints of Eco-Efficiency Measures: The Case of the Polish Food Industry

“…On the other hand, the systemic approach treats efficiency as the ability to shape the environment in such a way as to support the achievement of goals [10,11]. Enterprises are systems that are open to the environment to the extent that they need to achieve their goals.…”

“…Manufacturers can benefit from information on customer expectations pertaining to products, and thus build a competitive advantage in terms of more environmentally friendly products that better meet customers' needs [30] (p. 60). Sustainable production is about linking the production process at all stages of a product's life cycle to the concept of reducing the use of resources in production [11]. Indeed, it can be said that although the concept of eco-efficiency appeared as early as the 1990s as a practical tool for measuring sustainability, it was not until 2000 that it was introduced by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development [31] to define a management philosophy aimed at encouraging companies to seek environmental improvements that bring economic benefits in parallel [2,[32][33][34].…”