Contenu du sommaire : Trends and comments

Over the past decade, in response to mounting global concern that the once lauded innovation was often more detrimental than it was beneficial, there has been a burgeoning literature addressing the issue of responsible innovation (RI), which this special issue aimed to help developing further. To illustrate the contributions of the articles in this special issue, we conduct a bibliometric analysis of research in the field of RI, aiming to elucidate the dynamics, key contributors, and primary topics within this emergent area. Our findings reveal a general upward trend in RI publications, yet this trend conceals significant disparities, indicating a more complex landscape. We identify three critical pitfalls for the future of RI research: the risk of the topic becoming niche due to the concentration of scientific outputs in a limited range of journals, a preference for quantity over quality in publications, as evidenced by challenges in engaging mainstream journals and researchers, and the existence of independent and fragmented research communities within the RI field. Additionally, we propose two non-mutually exclusive explanations for the trends observed in RI literature. Firstly, there is a notable reluctance to embrace dominant theories or theoretical modelling which is not accompanied by the development of alternative theories. Secondly, an overly simplistic and often idealistic approach to RI is prevalent, which overlooks potential conflicts and challenges among stakeholders in the development of RI. We conclude by offering suggestions for addressing these issues and enhancing the field of RI research. These recommendations also serve as a prelude to introducing the articles in this special issue, providing a comprehensive overview of the current state and future directions of RI research.Code JEL: M14

Innovation policies have a tradition of targeting entrepreneurship, but more recently some have investigated their ability to foster responsible innovation. These approaches are emerging, and they might spread. However, as the literature emphasizes startups' sustainability impact assessment issues, challenges might arise. We conducted an exploratory study in the field, using the original case of i-Lab, a public grant for startups which added environmental and societal criteria in its evaluation. It provided an in-depth understanding of implementation and sustainability impact assessment challenges created by an innovation policy targeting responsible innovation for technological startups. We demonstrated the importance of the anticipation phase, which can be better prepared to extend acceptability and to guide entrepreneurs on the meaning of such requirements, thus reducing the heterogeneity of startups' responses.JEL Codes: L26

This article aims to identify the characteristics of business, social, environmental, or sustainable entrepreneurial projects led by student entrepreneurs. We analyze the specificities of the projects based on a business and/or social and/or environmental orientation, regarding the profile of student entrepreneurs and the features of their projects. We use a unique database of 210 responses of student entrepreneurs involved in the French entrepreneurial program PEPITE between 2014 and 2021. We propose a typology of student entrepreneurs that highlights the specific features of business, social, environmental, and sustainable student entrepreneurs. We show that the individual determinants of sustainable and environmental entrepreneurial projects are quite close, those of social projects are very specific, while sustainable projects are not associated with specific projects or individual profiles. We formulate managerial recommendations to improve the contribution of universities to the emergence of sustainable innovation in society through entrepreneurship education programs.JEL Codes: M130, O35

This study explores the intent of designers involved in design for sustainability and how responsible innovation can be collectively implemented. To do so, a case study using situational analysis was conducted with graduates of the Fabricademy program: a 6-month program on textiles and new technologies taught in a distributed manner out of the Fab Lab Network, focused on the value of open-source sharing and a hands-on approach to learning. In a context where both designers and consumers find the fashion industry increasingly devoid of purpose and connection, building skills through collective intelligence empowers actors in systemic transition, pointing to alternative pathways. Our findings indicate how the pedagogical approach of the Fabricademy program builds the technological literacy and self-awareness of learners so that they may transform products, services, systems and practices. We discuss these findings in light of dimensions for responsible innovation: anticipation, reflexivity, inclusion and responsiveness.JEL Codes: L67, I25

To foster responsible innovation, corporate governance lacks mechanisms that provide accountability for stakeholders on the companies' innovation strategy, despite the radical uncertainty associated with grand societal challenges. A legal corporate form recently introduced in France, the société à mission, requires the creation of a specific governance body, a mission committee, which is expected to monitor the company's execution of its purpose beyond profitability. This paper examines whether this new body introduces original governance mechanisms that are appropriate for innovative companies. It builds on participant observation in the mission committee of a French medium-sized company over seven years. This study opens a new avenue for responsible governance besides the reliance on deliberative capacities: a “generative governance” model which demands accountability on the firm's efforts to explore knowledge gaps and alternative strategies that mobilize innovation capabilities to find improved solutions to current societal challenges.JEL Codes: D22, G38, K20, L21, M14

We check the existence of cross-fertilization mechanisms between academic and industrial research in specific cases of a high creativity level and aim at describing the simultaneous discovery-invention process taking place. The classic models of innovation do not apply in these circumstances. We try to define a new model and test its relevance through testimonies of actors from public research organizations as well as industrial R&D departments. We observe various dimensions of knowledge co-creation and analyze the difficulties to overcome in these cooperative schemes. Success is not guaranteed because of institutional resistance and differences in individual motivation. If successful, the cooperative scheme considerably increases the level of global creativity and the likelihood of breakthrough innovations.JEL Codes: O31, O32

In response to today's “Grand Challenges” – complex, global, interdisciplinary issues –academic and political experts increasingly question the capacity of traditional policy to respond and suggest the need for renewed public innovation policies. Accordingly, this study considers ways to revitalize innovation policy and types of policy instruments, especially through the role of contests. First, it focuses on a form of policy governance known as tentative governance, which is intimately connected to the Responsible Research and Innovation approach. Second, it establishes that innovation contests can be conceptualized as a procedural policy tool that not only encourages innovation but also can be inclusive and adaptive. To illustrate this proposal, the current study reviews two innovation contest platforms launched by public agencies: one in the United States (Challenge.Gov) and one in Europe (European Commission Directorate-General for Research & Innovation). Using official documentation and websites, the authors analyze how such contests are run.JEL Codes: O32, O36, O38

Online Food Delivery (OFD) has evolved with the fast diffusion of digital platforms. But these innovations have thrived at the expense of riders delivering food orders. Riders' risks increase because of irresponsible behaviours in the OFD ecosystem. We seek to identify sources of irresponsibility in OFD ecosystems, which adopted OFD innovations (mobile apps). We argue that these sources are distributed across actors and span across innovation adoption phases. We construct a grid to identify these sources at each adoption phase, and apply it using data collected in France during the Covid pandemic, when riders' risks soared. Our first result enables us to fill an important gap in the literature, by providing a grid to analyse sources of irresponsibility in an OFD ecosystem. Our second result identifies these sources in the French OFD ecosystem, and enables us to provide an improved grid and to formulate managerial recommendations.JEL Codes: M14, O39

Although a plethora of authors have investigated the association between eco-innovation activities and firm competitiveness, the results of these studies remain inconsistent. However, very few papers take a systemic perspective. Hence, we examine the interactions between all the components of eco-innovation strategy: holistic engagement, technological innovation focus, organisational adaptation, open innovation, peculiarities of firm size. Based on data from the 2015 Community Innovation Survey conducted in Belgium and the BELFIRST database, we apply OLS and 2SLS regression models. The findings address inconsistencies in the literature by demonstrating that the outcomes of a well-managed eco-innovation strategy are better than the sum of its components. A holistic approach of eco-innovation can strengthen the competitive position of the firm. Moreover, the systemic view and the consideration of a firm's size-related characteristics permit us to draw a theoretical framework for the holistic and competitive integration of eco-innovation. It offers significant strategic guidance for managers. JEL Codes: O32, O36, Q550

We present the results of an exploratory study of transformation processes in “wicked problem situations”, faced by 623 German managers due to the COVID-19 crisis during summer 2021. Our study draws on a fruitful combination of sustainability transitions research, complexity theory, cognition in economics, meme theory, and sensemaking by using the SenseMaker® software platform as a data collection and analysis tool on patterns of meaning in managerial self-signification and interpretation of their own decisions. We contribute to current interdisciplinary debates by presenting an empirical study on sensemaking during the COVID-19 pandemic that uncovers the narrative patterns of managers during uncertain decision situations. Our results suggest that while new habits have emerged and human ingenuity and creativity is acknowledged, participants of our study appear to lack a strong vision of a sustainable future beyond green growth and the dominant techno-economic paradigm.JEL Codes: B59, D80, H12, I19, L21, M14, O31, O35, Z13