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Reading NotesTutorial 1 – What is innovative for SD?
Learning goals
1. What are key characteristics of innovation?
has relative advantage compared to previously existing alternatives – a
new product, process or service
Following Rogers’ work on diffusion of innovation – relative
advantages - compatibility (necessary characteristic) for producers
but especially users – can be more or less complex and trialable to
adopt for users – observability (to what extent are benefits
observable to potential adopters?)
linear model for Rogers but less attention to social context or
regulatory changes or dynamism of interaction – is this innovation
adopted in the end? Maybe there is also an iteration in the diffusion
and adoption of innov?
innovation, invention and diffusion are intertwined – a new version put
on the market: it this innovative? But you can also look at long term
silvestre: Innovation is a multi-actor process – developing or
manufacturing an innov but also interaction with users or changing
regulations also play a role
Uncertainty of impact of innovation see TCOS framework
2. Which types of innovations are distinguished? Give examples for each
type.
Silvestre and Tirca – normative
Social – social innovations are in response to social challenges see
below - dams construction – co-op shops locally – food banks – Share
the Meal
Green – Zalando do.More sustainability strategy – Ecosia – ocean
pollution collection technologies or on river -
Traditional – iphones and smart tvs (these could have a social
dimension?) – Netflix – amazon – spotify – robots in logistics to
maximise profits
Sustainable - https://www.othalo.com/ Use the billions of tons of
plastic waste to solve the housing deficiency in the developing world
while creating jobs and safe communities that allow for a growing
middle class to emerge and stabilize local and regional societies
portable toilets that are compostable for lower income population in
developing countries
, too good to go
plastic banks on islands where locals collect plastic and in exchange
they get food, schooling or cash – also for circularity
Sustaining – compostable packaging
disrupting – drones delivery – driverless cars – Netflix – spotify
Christensson – impact of market – implications for your business
historically but can be applied to societal changes if the innovation
changes the way actors interact or behave
Incremental – car sharing for users – change of ownership
Radical – for Norwegian gov, electric planes – Netflix/spotify for users –
radical policy measures
Technological – Econyl; electric cars/planes
Organisational/Behavioral – Zalando; car sharing; low-cost
travelling; e-commerce platforms – non-tangible – changes of diets for
ex. At the user side
3. What is path dependence? Give an example.
innovations success dependant on path dependency – thus decisions on innovations will
be bounded on decisions made in the past due to high switching costs and powerful
network effects
ex – automotive sector and combustion engines in paper 2 below
page 3086: different sources of path dependency: the firm and business manufacturer
side, the user side too (compatibility for users again) and also at the regulator side as
the propulsion technology is shaped by environmental regulation – lobbying too to
protect interests
> in many cases, we have an unsustainable situation at the start and move towards
more sustainability is difficult due to path dependency
Discussion question
Choose an innovation that you are interested in relevant for sustainable
development and classify this innovation using the innovation typologies
you have learned.
DOUBTS
- can a policy be considered innovation? And a rebranding strategy?
- sustaining and disrupting
- how to classify innovations that are detrimental to some stakeholders? Is
this link to disrupting?
Reading Notes
Silvestre and Tirca 2018
,- agreement that sustainability should be tacked based on innovation-centered approaches,
but in reality pace of change is too slow
- process of innovation, develop and adoption has 3 characteristics: complexity, dynamism
and uncertainty
> complex because it typically deals with a large number of inter-connected factors
that impact, or are impacted by, the other factors(Hall et al., 2012a). When
complexity is high, it is difficult to identifythe characteristics of the entire system, as
the nature and connec-tions of the interacting factors can easily be missed or
misunder-stood
> dynamic because these interacting factors change and evolve over time, and this
can lead to changing contexts that may make an innovation unviable, or may
produce unintended outcomes within a short period of time
> as a result of the above two, innovation process is thus also uncertain with re to
motivations, goals and outcomes
- TCOS framework helps understand how orgs, supply chains, and communities can better
address uncertainties associated with innovation
> proposes 4 types of innov. Uncertainties to address 1) tech feasibility (does tech
exist and can we get it) 2) commercial viability (potential to create a market for
innov. Exists/can be developed?) 3) organisational appropriability (potential to
appropriate benefits or innov and how difficult for competitors to copy it) 4) societal
acceptability considering societal side-effects
- achieving enhancedsustainability performance requires adaptation and change
inprocesses, products, management approaches, and policy orienta-tions. Therefore,
change is a fundamental element for organiza-tions, supply chains, and communities as they
evolve on theirsustainability trajectory (= paths undertaken to become more sust through
innovation)
- innovations success dependant on path dependency – thus decisions on innovations will
be bounded on decisions made in the past due to high switching costs and powerful
network effects
- Environmental Challenges:
Changes and innovations are central elements that will allow companies to enhance their
environmental performance and consequently evolve on their sustainability trajectory
(Silvestre,2015a). For this to happen, the availability of the innovation (i.e., technology,
product, processes, business practices, or policy approach) is not enough (Silvestre and Silva
Neto, 2014b). The willingness to adopt such an innovation and to truly incorporate it into
business processes (i.e., to change) are also mandatory for the success of the initiative.
These paths to green approaches require changes in the mindset of top management and
staff within those organizations
- Social Challenges:
Another pressing issue which prevents us from achieving a satisfactory sustainable
development trajectory is the social challenge that the world is currently facing, such as
poverty and corruption or war etc
how fair things are and how are being distributed – refer to social welfare
, The fourth type of innovationdsustainable innovationdempha-sizes both environmental and
social concerns. This type of innova-tion includes synonymous terms such as“sustainability-
orientedinnovation”(e.g.,Adams et al., 2016) and“socio-ecological innova-
tion”(e.g.,Edgeman and Eskildsen, 2014). In this type of innovation,there is no attempt to
maximize one single dimension; rather, asatisfactory solution should be targeted (Hall et al.,
2012a), andcompromises are likely to be required in all three dimensions. Thistype of
innovation is consistent with the triple bottom line of sus-tainability (Elkington, 1997), and it
places equal emphasis on thethree pillars of sustainability: economic, environmental, and
social.Hall and Vredenburg (2003)argue that this type of innovation isdifficult and risky
because it is often“more complex (because thereis typically a wider range of stakeholders)
and more ambiguous (asmany of the parties have contradictory demands)”than other
typesof innovations
Conclusions:
> important to connect the innovation for SD discourse to the TCOS framework – depending
on type of innovation, different type of uncertainty might be evident in each – so
understanding differences btw types of innovations might help to find better ways to
identify and manage innovations
> enhanced sustainability performance requires deep changes in orgs, supply chains and
communities which can only happen via learning and innovation – as the nature of
innovation differs, these actors might have to evolve differently on their sustainability
trajectories – contextual and historical factors should also be taken into consideration to
avoid path dependency
> communities, cities and regions can benefit from more radical perspectives – while
sustainability innovations are usually consistent with triple bottom lines, more radical
approaches might be needed sustainable innovation 2.0 where social and environmental
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