Dear Innovation Scholars:
Fortunately, the majority of individuals involved in the creation and development of new products recognize the importance of generating value for various stakeholders. These stakeholders include target users, sponsor firms, non-users, employees, society, and the natural environment. Regrettably, the field of Innovation Research has largely neglected to address the detrimental or undesirable effects of innovations. With the emergence of new technologies such as Generative A.I. and CRISPR, along with their unintended consequences, it has become imperative to anticipate these effects and establish protective measures. All of this necessitates extensive research on the concept and implementation of responsible innovation and the management of the inherent tensions associated with it.
Ian Clark Sinapuelas (sinapuel@sfsu.edu) , Minu Kumar (mkumar@sfsu.edu) , Phil Macnaghten (philip.macnaghten@wur.nl) , and Chenwei Li (cwli@sfsu.edu) cordially invite you to submit your research to the special issue on this topic in the JPIM Journal of Product Innovation Management. The submission deadline is May 31st, 2024. We eagerly anticipate reading your valuable contributions and please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Some key questions this special issue aims to investigate:
• What are firms' current understanding of and engagement with responsible innovation?
• How are the most responsible firms configuring responsibility and embedding the concept into NPD practice? Does RI influence decision-making during the various stages of the NPD process? What pillars of RI (i.e., inclusion, anticipation, reflexivity, and responsiveness) are incorporated into the NPD and Innovation Management processes?
• What types of business model designs, firm capabilities, and cultural considerations foster RI in NPD? Are there differences in RI when applied in the for-profit and not-for-profit realms
• What types of leadership skills, mindsets, and boundary-spanning activities are used to foster responsible innovation? What strategies do leaders employ to balance the tensions between profitability and responsible innovation? How do leaders empower and support NPD teams to embrace RI in their daily work?
• Can the uptake of RI contribute to alternative business models predicated on sustainability and enabling equitable and just societies? What do organizations look like in a different paradigm? And Under what conditions do such organizations flourish?
Sincerely,
Chenwei
Chenwei Li, Ph. D.
Associate Professor of Management
Associate Director, RI&E Initiative
Lam Family College of Business
San Francisco State University
Email: cwli@sfsu.edu