scholarly journals The role of local universities in the dissemination of social innovations: the case of the municipal district of Quito

Author(s):  
Klaus Gierhake ◽  
Carlos Maria Fernandez Jardon

Local knowledge helps generate social innovations. Universities, which are part of the territorial innovation system, are important in creating innovations, but their role in diffusing social innovations is less well known. The social policies established in Ecuador have given rise to different social innovations. In particular, the metropolitan district of Quito, based on the metropolitan development plan from 2012 to 2022, has generated a process of social innovations of great interest. Local universities usually participate in the training process of the agents involved in the development of social innovation. In a complementary way, local universities can facilitate cooperation between these agents. Both are essential elements in the diffusion of innovation. This paper analyzes the importance of collaboration with universities to disseminate social innovations in the Metropolitan District of Quito, using a series of interviews. The results indicate that the lack of collaboration with the universities and the limited knowledge that exists in them hampered the practical development of the plan and its effectiveness.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 906
Author(s):  
Noelia Franco-Leal ◽  
Carmen Camelo-Ordaz ◽  
Juan Pablo Dianez-Gonzalez ◽  
Elena Sousa-Ginel

Social innovations developed by academic spinoffs (ASOs) are acquiring an ever-increasing relevance in the literature on academic entrepreneurship. Previous studies have considered the importance of the social and institutional contexts of entrepreneurial ecosystems for the development of these innovations, although a greater depth of analysis is required in this field of study. This research analyzes the influence of the frequency of contact with agents of social and institutional contexts of the entrepreneurial ecosystem on the social innovations of ASOs. From a sample of 173 Spanish ASOs, the results indicate that frequent contact with government and academic support units improves this type of innovation of ASOs. Regarding social context, an increase in the frequency of contact with customers, suppliers, and competitors favors the development of social innovation. However, frequent contact with venture capital firms inhibits the development of this type of innovation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Heinisch

Citizen science has become a world-wide phenomenon. Especially for citizen science projects that have a global reach, translation is crucial to overcome language and cultural barriers to reach members of the public. Translation, understood as the transfer of meaning (of a text) from one language into another language, is crucial for the transmission of information, knowledge and (social) innovations. Therefore, this paper examines the role of translation and terminology used in citizen science projects and how translation can foster (or impede) social innovation through citizen science activities. Based on a set of predefined criteria derived from the social innovation literature, this paper analyzes the factors that contribute to (social) innovation in citizen science by means of translation. A specific focus of the case study is on the aspects of agency, institutions, and social systems. The results demonstrate that translation in citizen science may support a change of social practices as ingredients of social innovations. Additional research is needed to further understand the implications of translation in citizen science and its effects on social innovation. Nevertheless, this work has been one of the first attempts to examine the relation between translation, citizen science and social innovation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (349) ◽  
pp. 107-127
Author(s):  
Urszula Ornarowicz

Areas of research in economics and management science become increasingly close – they overlap and become very similar. New events, new products of people’s actions, new patterns of behaviour arise with a pace unknown before. Institutionalisation of these phenomena aimed at their broad codification also takes on new forms. We live in an age of ubiquitous innovativeness. Naturally, the question arises: should innovations be perceived in the same way as in the past? Are there any new types of innovations that have appeared lately? Are the current definitions of market and social innovations still up to date? The aim of the article is to present a change in approach to innovations over time, with particular focus on their market and social aspects. The author attempts to answer the following questions: how did technological progress visible in the networking of economy influence the understanding of social innovations, what is the role of social production and exchange which replace gradually market exchange, in the social innovation definition, to what extent is the cooperation within a community in the virtual space characteristic of a special class of social innovation? The research method used by the author is based on literature studies on innovations and on the economics of cooperation (access, sharing, co‑use). It comprises an analysis of different concepts of innovation, in particular different definitions of the name, an analysis of different approaches to cooperation economics, comparisons of the obtained results, and conclusions formulation. The approach to innovation changes over time – from a technical, social and market approach to a differently understood today social approach. Contemporary, the criteria for innovation “society” are different. The understanding of innovation is influenced by the increased role of social production and exchange at the expense of market exchange. The networking of the information economy significantly strengthens the social aspect of innovation. Cooperation within a community, including co‑creation of goods, access to them, their co‑use and sharing, is an extreme example of the advantage of the social dimension of innovation over its market aspect.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-38
Author(s):  
Tatiane Martins Cruz Pirotti ◽  
Cláudia Cristina Bitencourt ◽  
Kadígia Faccin ◽  
Caroline Kretschmer

Social innovations are important tools for minimizing or solving social problems. However, significant challenges remain in managing social innovation development for long-term survival and expanding its social impacts to generate scalability. This process can be supported by dynamic capabilities and their microprocesses. By conducting a single case study, we aim to contribute to the stream of research on management of social innovation that analyzes the ways in which dynamic capabilities can influence the scalability process of social innovation. Our contribution arises from generating an understanding of how and why dynamic capabilities influence the social innovation scalability process.


Author(s):  
T. A. Drobyshevskya

The article is dedicated to the role of the knowledge-producing sector for the development of innovation economy in Finland. History and structure of the Finnish innovation system, as well as main characters of knowledge-producing sector as a part of the system are in the center of investigation. The author comes to the conclusion that it was the social state model in Finland that made it possible to create the knowledge-producing sector able either to keep a high quality of education of all levels or to maintain a culture of networking diffusion of knowledge and innovation.


Author(s):  
Banu Atrek ◽  
Burcu İlter

Overconsumption is fueled by the idea that the more people buy, the happier they become; however, this is not compatible with sustainability and the future of the planet. Deep concerns about the sustainability of nature and natural resources give rise to discussions of sustainable consumption, and social innovation applications may lead the way to sustainable consumption. Thus, this chapter aims to provide a picture of social innovation practices in services for sustainable consumption in an emerging economy. Although the chapter focuses mainly on contemporary social innovations, an overview of the social innovation concept and possible historical roots of social innovations from Turkish history are also provided.


Author(s):  
Alicia Guerra Guerra ◽  
Lyda Sánchez de Gómez ◽  
Carlos Jurado Rivas

The fusion of the social economy with the digital economy, together with the essential need for social organizations to innovate in order to face challenges not satisfied by using traditional methods, led to what is known as digital social innovation: the use of digital technologies to allow or help to carry out social innovations. We are facing a developing field of study, in full evolution and with a high and recent level of global activity, which makes it a true global movement. This, together with the fact that DSI practices still lack unanimous and systematized criteria, calls for identifying what DSI is and what should be understood by it. Therefore, this chapter aims to configure and illustrate the conceptual framework of DSI, detail the barriers that are limiting its momentum, and formulate a general scheme of action for good practices in DSI.


Author(s):  
Gaye Karacay

Being at a development stage, the social innovation literature needs further contributions that would help to comprehensively find out the enablers of social innovation especially within macro level. Since the nature of social innovation is cumulative as well as interactive, the micro level practices of individual social innovation initiatives add up to the general patterns at the macro-level. On account of the fact that shared values among members of a society bring about similar expectations, perceptions, and behavioral patterns, it is essential to explore how various societal cultural attributes contribute to social innovation capacities of countries. This study aims to explore an evidence of the influence of societal culture on social innovation, specifically by shaping the perceptions of social entrepreneurs for social value creation. By discussing the relationship between societal culture and social innovation in a conceptual manner along with developing research propositions, this study offers a new direction for future research.


Author(s):  
Gudrun-Christine Schimpf ◽  
Georg Mildenberger ◽  
Susanne Giesecke ◽  
Attila Havas

The chapter deals with the trajectory of social housing as a social innovation in European countries from the nineteenth century to the present. The long-term analysis of this comprehensive case study is guided by the Extended Social Grid Model (ESGM). Following a short description of seven different phases of social housing, the chapter turns to the role of social powers and the capability approach. All in all, the involvement of various actors and social networks in shaping a successful innovation becomes visible. Another important point is the insight that social innovations have to adjust to ever changing contexts du their trajectory. The analysis sheds light on supporting conditions of successful social innovations and reflects on the co-evolution of social and business innovations.


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