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Challenges for responsible innovation

Challenges for responsible innovation

Von Schomberg, Lucien ORCID: 0000-0003-2299-8812 (2021) Challenges for responsible innovation. In: Godin, Benoît, Gaglio, Gérald and Vinck, Dominique, (eds.) Handbook on Alternative Theories of Innovation. Sociology, Social Policy and Education 2021 . Edward Elgar, Cheltenham and Massachusetts, pp. 135-146. ISBN 978-1789902297; 978-1789902303 (doi:https://doi.org/10.4337/9781789902303.00018)

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Abstract

The emergence of responsible innovation articulates the need for a paradigm shift in the innovation discourse, driving innovation away from mainstream economic interests towards societally desirable outcomes. In this chapter I report on three main challenges of responsible innovation-respectively the epistemic, political, and conceptual challenge-and discuss to what extent they bring the feasibility of this paradigm shift into question. In light of the conceptual challenge, I demonstrate that the epistemic and political implications of responsible innovation relate to the widely presupposed concept of technological innovation and commercialized innovation. In this vein, I argue that the discourse of responsible innovation is summoned to the overarching pursuit of technological and economic progress and, as such, is unable to realize its ambitions. This leads me to conclude with a call for future research to explore an alternative concept of innovation which addresses the public good beyond mainstream economic thought.

Item Type: Book Section
Uncontrolled Keywords: responsible innovation; responsible research and innovation; science and technology studies
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BJ Ethics
H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
T Technology > T Technology (General)
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group: Faculty of Business
Faculty of Business > Department of Systems Management & Strategy
Last Modified: 12 Oct 2023 17:26
URI: http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/36304

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