What kind of innovations do we need to secure our future?

Abstract

The question of what kind of innovations can secure our future is in this paper put in perspective with the unknown risks which innovations may imply. Innovations sometimes turn out to cause severe negative externalities after they have successfully passed the market test. In such cases, the social costs that are revealed only later may result in substantial welfare losses. Obviously, innovations of this kind are the opposite of what is needed. Can the knowledge flows related to innovation processes be strategically arranged in such a way that these externality risks are minimized? The options to be reviewed relate to the debate on open vs. closed innovation processes initiated in management science. The paper briefly discusses several aspects of this debate and introduces a model of self-organizing belief formation which reflects the conditions of open vs. closed innovation processes. On this basis it is shown that a conflict arises between arrangements fostering an early discovery of negative externalities of innovations and the incentives potential innovators have to pursue innovative activities.

Sustainability Orientation and Entrepreneurship Orientation: Is There a Tradeoff Relationship between Them?

“…It is considered that the new opportunity for marketability can be drawn from environmental destruction resulting from the production process in a firm. Sustainability-oriented individuals then produce products that can take the opportunity without undermining the environment [15,16]. Environmental degradation deriving from market imperfection brings entrepreneurial opportunities, and entrepreneurs discover and pursue these opportunities.…”

Participatory Public Service Design by Gov.3.0 Design Group

“…Opportunities for interactions are crucial because when the supplier and users interact without boundaries, their respective information and needs generate a valid flow and can enhance the outcomes. For this reason, offering efficient medias (or channels) for gaining specific knowledge can be defined as one of the characteristics of open innovation [47]. In the case study, the working group selectively used both non-face-to-face media for communication, such as email and SNS, and face-to-face media for communication such as group meetings and workshops, depending on the needs.…”

Exploitation of architectural knowledge and innovation

“…Rather, innovation is a long time cumulative process of a great number of organizational decision-making process, ranging from the phase of generation of a new idea to its implementation phase. As I reviewed, knowledge is key component to innovation; knowledge flows related to innovative activities are a core component of the first major implementations dealing with the details and specificities of how innovations are being created and how the innovation process can best be organized (Witt, 2016). Henderson and Clark (1990) suggested that, concerning architectural innovation and knowledge, architectural innovation destroys the usefulness of a firm's architectural knowledge but preserves the usefulness of its knowledge about the product's components.…”