Grand Societal Challenges and Responsible Innovation

Abstract

Grand societal challenges (GSCs) represent complex, multi‐level, multi‐dimensional problems that require concerted efforts by various actors – public, private, and non‐profit – to be successfully addressed. Businesses – alone or in conjunction with governmental and non‐profit organizations – are relevant actors in this regard, as they represent a source of innovation. Responsible innovation (RI) is a framework that allows for the governance and evaluation of innovations with regard to their potential harmful consequences and positive contributions to societal challenges. Moreover, it stipulates that this evaluation process should be facilitated by appropriate governance structures at various levels. The aim of this article is to expand theorizing on GSCs and RI and to encourage research that explores their links. We outline pertinent characteristics of GSCs that make current conceptualizations of corporate social responsibility and social innovation limited in addressing GSCs. We explicate the reflexive and participative capacities of RI governance as a complementary and promising way forward. Finally, we introduce the contributions to this Special Issue as illustrations of relevant theoretical and empirical groundwork around GSCs and RI, and outline the agenda for future research.

The future of grand challenges research: Retiring a hopeful concept and endorsing research principles

“…Such a mandate calls for empirical and theoretical attention to how organizations influence and shape the trajectories of social systems and expands traditional ways of studying how organizations address or are affected by GC (Mair & Seelos, 2021). Illustrations for a traditional perspective are Brown et al (2022), who identified organizational survival as the key dependent variable in GC research, or Voegtlin et al (2022), who identified responsible innovation as an approach by which businesses help solve GC. A third mandate perspective expands a focus on solving GC towards imagining and assessing possibilities and roles for organizations to generate fewer 'grand' problems in the first place (Ackoff, 1981).…”

“…(2022), who identified organizational survival as the key dependent variable in GC research, or Voegtlin et al. (2022), who identified responsible innovation as an approach by which businesses help solve GC. A third mandate perspective expands a focus on solving GC towards imagining and assessing possibilities and roles for organizations to generate fewer ‘grand’ problems in the first place (Ackoff, 1981).…”

“…We evaluate research by management scholars on Grand Challenges (GC). Calls for special issues (Academy of Management Journal, 2014; Howard‐Grenville et al., 2017a; Kunisch et al., 2021; Voegtlin et al., 2019) promoted research on GC as an opportunity to (re)direct attention towards phenomena of societal concern. This plea extends earlier proposals to ground organizational research in the observation of phenomena relevant to society at large (Walsh et al., 2003) and to instil a sense of responsibility in management research and education (Howard‐Grenville et al., 2019; Tsui, 2021).…”

Editorial: Social sustainability at work: A key to sustainable development in business

“…Framed in social responsibility, organizations have the opportunity to contribute not only to mitigating the difficult conditions of forced migration the crisis has led to, but to also enhancing their innovation and creativity through inclusive work environments. Thus, innovation makes companies globally competitive in a highly complex and uncertain business environment while promoting a better society (Voegtlin et al, 2022).…”

Editorial: Next-generation innovation policies: Promoting systemic socio-economic transformative change

“…Innovation has become more tightly connected with the grand societal challenges addressed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (e.g., Coenen et al, 2015 ; Tödtling et al, 2022 ; Voegtlin et al, 2022 ). At EU level, concepts such as responsible research and innovation (RRI) (Stilgoe, Owen, and Macnaghten, 2013 ; Von Schomberg, 2013 ; Thapa et al, 2019 ) and mission-oriented research and innovation reflect this new focus on societal goals, inclusion and sustainable transitions (Mazzucato, 2018 ; Hekkert et al, 2020 ; Hill, 2022 ).…”