Social Innovations as Drivers of Social Change – Exploring Tarde’s Contribution to Social Innovation Theory Building

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jürgen Howaldt ◽  
Ralf Kopp ◽  
Michael Schwarz
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
Innovation Theory ◽  
Social Innovations

scholarly journals Community Reaction towards Social Innovation: A Discussion of Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations Theory in Consideration of Community Emotional Response

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-46
Author(s):  
Bryan Hains ◽  
Kristina Hains
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovation ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovations ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Community Education ◽  
Adoption Process ◽  
Innovation Theory ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovation Theory ◽  
Social Good ◽  
Social Innovations

While originally utilized within the natural and agricultural sciences, the diffusion of innovation theory has been applied across numerous contexts. As we continue to apply this model within Extension education, international development, and other community education contexts around the world, it not only becomes pertinent to examine how it applies towards social innovations – innovations that improve the social good – but also to understand how communities react when adopting social innovations. Within this article, researchers propose an Emotional-Behavioral Influence Model to deepen the understanding as to how communities respond, emotionally and behaviorally, towards social innovations throughout the adoption process. They then overlay the model onto two examples, one urban and one rural, showcasing its application to communities worldwide. Finally, researchers discuss implications for extension professionals as they preflect on implementing social innovations in communities globally. Keywords: Diffusion of Innovation theory; flow; communities; downshifting; social innovation

Building Theories-in-Practice on Social Innovation in Disability Nonprofit Organizations

2020 ◽  
pp. 212-250
Author(s):  
Rachel Taylor ◽  
Nuttaneeya (Ann) Torugsa
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
System Level ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Causal Mechanisms ◽  
Social Innovations

This chapter discusses the key theoretical and empirical steps undertaken throughout the authors' previous-but-related mixed methods studies on social innovation in nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in the Australian disability sector with the aim of using the key findings of these studies to develop ‘theories-in-practice' in disability NPOs. In this chapter, the authors summarize the associated theory-building processes deployed to explain how disability NPOs develop and implement social innovations and the societal ‘system-level' impacts of such innovations. These theory-building processes involve two broad phases, and the culmination of these phases (grounded in the abductive logics of inquiry, complexity theorizing, and set-theoretic methods) leads to the development of several ‘theories-to-practice' that not only convey the interactivity of contextual causal mechanisms leading to social innovation by NPOs, but also outline change-oriented solutions for managers who are working to address complex social challenges.

SOCIAL CONFLICT AND SOCIAL INNOVATION

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (01n02) ◽  
pp. 3-25
Author(s):  
NGAI KUEN ALVIN KWOK
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Social Conflict ◽  
Resistance To Change ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Negative Side ◽  
Social Innovations ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Cultural Turn

While the spot light in recent years is focusing on the merits of social enterprises and their contributions to social innovation, this paper tries to look from a different angle on social innovation — on the relationship between social conflict and social innovation. From the perspective of social change, social conflict will inevitably bring about change even though forces of resistance to change may also exist at the same time. No matter such change is on the positive or negative side, and no matter how significant or immaterial it is, social change is manifested in the form of new social practices, norms, new values, or even new culture. Starting from an attempt on conceptualization of social innovation, this paper argues that social conflict can bring forth social innovation, provided that the former meets essential criteria and conditions. It urges for an enabling environment that will foster social conflicts into social innovations. It further argues that a cultural turn may be the keystone for such a change to occur.

scholarly journals The Genesis of Corruption—the Dominant Features of Contemporary Societies of the Colonial Past Inheritance

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 201
Author(s):  
Miroslav Kuka
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Organizational Models ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Institutional Practice ◽  
Social Innovations

One of the most significant characteristics of the contemporary society is the continuous and an intense social change. This continuous social change initiates a special subject of research into social practice, which envisages in social innovations, influencing to change the life style of citizens of a society. Social innovations are encouraged through the interaction of the institutional networks and individuals and changes can be visible in practice, processes, business models, and organizational forms, all in order to respond to a social problem. In addition to historical and political conditions, social innovations are also determined through cultural patterns, in a manner that not every social innovation will aim to develop potential and seek to answers to social problems. In contemporary societies of the 21st century with a colonial past (inheritance), the inherited cultural and historical patterns are just the crucial components which creating social problems, by developing organizational models of corruption, as a parallel form of functioning of the rule of law. The institutional practice within the Serbian institutions through a direct research in the form of this paper, considering period from 2009 to 2021, serves to analyze the genesis of the emergence and development of corruption, i.e., an illegal use of the system of positions (status) for the purpose of gaining one's own benefit and collapsing the rule of law. Simultaneously, the paper provides with a hypothetical answer to explain how corruption, as the primary form of a social innovation in the countries of “colonial democracy inheritance”, can potentially suppress.

Building Theories-in-Practice on Social Innovation in Disability Nonprofit Organizations

2022 ◽  
pp. 143-172
Author(s):  
Rachel Taylor ◽  
Nuttaneeya (Ann) Torugsa
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
System Level ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Causal Mechanisms ◽  
Social Innovations

This chapter discusses the key theoretical and empirical steps undertaken throughout the authors' previous-but-related mixed methods studies on social innovation in nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in the Australian disability sector with the aim of using the key findings of these studies to develop ‘theories-in-practice' in disability NPOs. In this chapter, the authors summarize the associated theory-building processes deployed to explain how disability NPOs develop and implement social innovations and the societal ‘system-level' impacts of such innovations. These theory-building processes involve two broad phases, and the culmination of these phases (grounded in the abductive logics of inquiry, complexity theorizing, and set-theoretic methods) leads to the development of several ‘theories-to-practice' that not only convey the interactivity of contextual causal mechanisms leading to social innovation by NPOs, but also outline change-oriented solutions for managers who are working to address complex social challenges.

scholarly journals Paradigmatic upgrading of social innovation studies

2020 ◽  
pp. 144078332096455
Author(s):  
Nikolai Genov
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Innovation Studies ◽  
Sociological Knowledge ◽  
Central Task ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Innovations ◽  
Multidimensional Concept

The guiding idea of this analysis concerns the development of social innovation theory on the paradigmatic basis of the social interaction concept. The aims of the discussion are three-fold. First, the central task is to elaborate on a multidimensional concept of social innovation, defined as organized social change. Second, the development of the social innovation concept is used to evaluate the heuristic potentials of the sociological paradigm of social interaction. Third, the paradigm of social interaction and its capacities to guide the structuration, functioning and development of knowledge about social innovations are put under close scrutiny. The conclusion is that the suggested disciplinary paradigm of sociology and the new concept of social innovation facilitate the explanatory approach to relevant social phenomena, the overcoming of theoretical and methodological dilemmas in sociology and the systematic building up of cumulative sociological knowledge.

Are Ethnic Entrepreneurs Social Innovators? Turkish Migrant Entrepreneurs in Salzburg

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-371
Author(s):  
Heiko Berner
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Strict Sense ◽  
Labour Market Situation ◽  
Ethnic Business ◽  
Turkish Migrants ◽  
Social Innovations ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Ethnic Businesses

Social innovations are targeted measures that are capable to resolve social problems (Rammert 2010) and they are directed towards an improvement of the situation (Gillwald 2000). Finally, they are directed towards an amelioration of the situation (Gillwald 2000). In Austria it is argued that ethnic business represents a type of social innovation (Haberfellner 2000). The question the paper addresses is if and to what extent ethnic business goes hand in hand with social developments and possibly boosts social change. Entrepreneurs of Turkish origin in Salzburg are the focus of analysis. The paper starts with a definition of the term ‚social innovation‘ (1), the issues of ethnic vs. migrant business (2.), followed by the description of the labour market situation of Turkish migrants in Salzburg and discrimination in the labour market (3.), and, to to round up, the analysis of biographic interviews with Turkish entrepreneurs in Salzburg (4.). The preliminary results show that there exist social problems such as the lower socio-economic situation of Turkish migrants in Salzburg and discrimination in the labour market. These problems can be seen as basis for the need of social innovations. But nevertheless Turkish run ethnic businesses in a strict sense of the word are no social innovation because they do not act against the problems in an intended way; they rather work on their own account. They may overcome disadvantages on the labour market but their actions are not directed towards overcoming the problem per se. It is much rather a transintentional aspect (Schimank 2010), which goes beyond the economic interest of the actors.

scholarly journals DEFINITION OF DRIVING FACTORS FOR DESIGNING SOCIAL INNOVATIONS IN THE ENERGY SECTOR

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 891-900
Author(s):  
Iban Lizarralde ◽  
Audrey Abi Akle ◽  
Mikhail Hamwi ◽  
Basma Samir
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Energy Sector ◽  
Social Innovations ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Energy Community ◽  
New Criteria

AbstractCurrent development of renewable energy systems (RES) is characterised by an increasing participation of citizens in the upstream decision-making process. These citizens can be future users of the RES but also members of a Renewable Energy Community that develop RES. They can be at the same time Renewable Energy producer, investor and consumer. Moreover, several type of businesses and terms are used to cope with social innovations within the energy sector: local renewable projects, sustainable energy communities or community of renewable energy production. So, actors' engagement opens new solutions for designers who are induced to share alternatives before making decisions. They usually impose constraints since the early phases of the design process. This approach implies for designers to consider new criteria related to citizens motivations and barriers. This paper presents a study to define the main factors that drive people to contribute in social innovation schemes for clean-energy transition. After a state of the art, a survey about 6 main factors and 18 criteria is presented. The analysis based on the responses from 34 participants (i.e. experts) reveals 2 most important factors of motivation and 2 principal barrier sources.

scholarly journals Modelo descritivo de atuação sustentável para o desenvolvimento de inovações sociais

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-262
Author(s):  
Priscila Rezende Da Costa ◽  
Lucimar da Silva Itelvino ◽  
Sonia Francisca Monken
Keyword(s):  
Social Transformation ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Social Impacts ◽  
Social Business ◽  
Descriptive Model ◽  
Innovation Development ◽  
Sustainable Performance ◽  
Social Innovations

Purpose: The concept of social innovation as open, collaborative and social transformation process opens room to reinforce the need of legitimizing social impact businesses and of expanding partnerships for social change, as well as the urgency of establishing professional and more sustainable social innovation environments. Accordingly, we tried to answer the following research question: How can social business performance boost the development of social innovations?Design/methodology/approach: Therefore, we adopted the inductive approach of qualitative paradigm, based on the Grounded Theory, to investigate 24 social businesses. In addition, we adopted the Atlas.ti software for data organization and recovery.Aggregate results allowed us to  propose a descriptive model of sustainable performance for the development of social innovations in social business, based on the following propositions: sustainable performance in processes and social innovation, the prevalence of a cooperative environment to solve social issues, professional governance as causal factor to social innovation development, the development of actions focused on public interests as influencing conditions for social innovation development, technical and scientific evaluation of social impacts as strategy to measure the outcomes of developed innovations and the expansion of social impacts as the consequence of the self-negotiation of social affairs.Originality/value: A descriptive model of sustainable acting was proposed for the development of social innovations in social businesses.

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