Business, Innovation and Responsibility

Responsible Research and Innovation appears as a paradoxical frame, hard to conceptualize and difficult to apply. If on the one hand research and innovation appear to follow logics blind to societal issues, responsibility is still a blurred concept interpreted according to circumstances. Different perspectives are implied in the RRI discourse rendering difficult also its application, because each social dimension proposes a different path for its implementation. This book will try to indicate how such conflictual understanding of RRI is caused by a reductive interpretation of ethics and, consequently, of responsibility. The resulting framework will represent an ethical approach to RRI that could help in overcoming conflictual perspectives and construct a multi-layer approach to research and innovation.

This book takes stock of the state of the question on innovation in a particular area of education and training. But for this it must be noted that economists have appropriated the notion since Schumpeter and have constrained to think innovation in professions of intervention on others as if they were products to be delivered to the customer as quickly and the best (frugal innovation). Here the author brings a nuance and demonstrates the specificity of innovations in «soft» areas, their richness, while drawing the reader to caution and criticism because any innovation is not good in itself: it can Produce adverse effects in the medium and long term. The author proposes two supports for innovation: on the one hand the approach by its most objective evaluation which itself induces an innovation in its evaluation and, on the other hand, an approach to values and therefore to philosophy of the desired future man. A detour on the history of innovation, on its international approaches, on the imaginary investments it is often the object of (with a nuance of utopia) makes it possible to understand why innovation has been a means To drive the reforms and to convince people for a better future.

The concepts of innovation and export are traditionally considered in isolation, both within companies and within the support organizations dedicated to them. As a result, within this broad research field, very little academic work has focused on how to implement their relationship at an operational level. This book proposes a joint diagnostic tool for SMEs, highlighting good practices to be mastered in order to simultaneously improve innovation and export performance, in the form of a virtuous circle. Innovation and Export focuses on the integration of innovation and export into the strategic management of SMEs, for which the use of synergies is a powerful lever to overcome any difficulties in mobilizing significant resources.

This book represents the definitive research collection for corporate social responsibility communication, offering cross-disciplinary and international perspectives from the top scholars in the field. Addresses a gap in the existing CSR literature Demonstrates the relevance of effective CSR communication for the management of organizations The 28 contributions come from top scholars in public relations, organizational communication, reputation management, marketing and management

This book explores the relationships between knowledge management (KM) processes and innovation management. The geographical extension of markets and intensification of competition have led firms to experiment with novel approaches to innovation. New organizational forms emerged in which firms collaborate with various stakeholders to create, absorb, integrate and protect knowledge. This book explores how knowledge management processes evolve with firms’ implementation of interactive, collaborative and open innovation models and it identifies the various knowledge types and processes involved throughout the different phases of the innovation process. The authors provide operational typologies for understanding innovative firms’ capabilities and knowledge management practices and also discuss the main properties of four models of interactive innovation, namely open innovation, user-centric innovation, community-based innovation and crowdsourcing.

Combining insights from academic research and practical examples, this book aims to better understand the link between financial markets and innovation management. First, we are back to the very definition of innovation and what it means for financial and non-financial companies. Then, we analyze if efficient innovation management by companies is recognized and valued by financial markets. Finally, we focus on innovation within the financial sector: does it really create value outside the financial sector itself. Are Financial innovations value … or risk creators?

Covering more than 200 years of history from pre-contact to the present, this textbook places religion at the center of the history of the American West, examining the relationship between religion and the region and their influence on one another. A comprehensive examination of the relationship between religion and the American West and their influence on each other over the course of more than 200 years Discusses diverse groups of people, places, and events that played an important historical role, from organized religion and easily recognized denominations to unorganized religion and cults Provides straightforward explanations of key religious and theological terms and concepts Weaves discussion of American Indian religion throughout the text and presents it in dialogue with other groups Enriches our understanding of American history by examining key factors outside of traditional political, economic, social, and cultural domains

This book discusses management and engineering innovation with a particular emphasis on human resource management (HRM) and production engineering. In an innovation context, the disciplines of management and engineering are linked to promote sustainable development, seeking cultural and geographical diversity in the studies of HRM and engineering, applications that can have a particular impact on organizational communications, change processes and work practices. This connection reflects the diversity of societal and infrastructural conditions. The authors mainly analyze research on important issues that transcend the boundaries of individual academic subjects and managerial functions. They take into account interdisciplinary scholarship and commentaries that challenge the paradigms and assumptions of individual disciplines or functions, which are based on conceptual and/or empirical literature. The book is designed to increase the knowledge and effectiveness of all those involved in management and engineering innovation whether in the profit or not-for-profit sectors, or in the public or private sectors. Contents 1. We the Engineers and Them the Managers, Teresa Carla Oliveira and Joao Fontes Da Costa. 2. Strategic Capabilities for Successful Engagement in Proactive CSR in Small and Medium Enterprises: A Resource-Based View Approach, Nuttaneeya (Ann) Torugsa and Wayne O’Donohue. 3. Innovative Management Development in the Automotive Supply Industry – A Preliminary Case Study for the Development of an Innovative Approach to Innovation Management, Frank E.P. Dievernich and Kim Oliver Tokarski. 4. Innovative Product Design and Development through Online Customization, M. Reza Abdi and Vipin Khanna. 5. Struggling for Survival and Success: Can Brazil’s Defense Industry Help Foster Innovation?, Alex L?bo Carlos and Regina Maria de Oliveira Leite. 6. Knowledge Management Fostering Innovation: Balancing Practices and Enabling Contexts, Maria Joao Santos and Raky Wane. 7. Institutional Logics Promoting and Inhibiting Innovation, Teresa Carla Trigo Oliveira and Stuart Holland. 8. HRM in SMEs in Portugal: An Innovative Proposal of Characterization, Pedro Ribeiro Novo Melo and Carolina Machado. About the Authors Carolina Machado has been teaching Human Resource Management since 1989 at the School of Economics and Management, University of Minho, Portugal, becoming Associate Professor in 2004. Her research interests include the fields of Human Resource Management, International Human Resource Management, Training and Development, Management Change and Knowledge Management. J. Paulo Davim is Aggregate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Aveiro, Portugal. He has more than 25 years of teaching and research experience in production and mechanical engineering.

“We do not know where Silicon Valley is really located”, Feldman writes, because these types of organization, when they are dynamic, are moving and fluid. Innovation and production ecosystems or clusters are proliferating today because they seem to be adapted to the demands of innovation, growth and employment. The process leading to their institutionalization escapes a summary analysis of the behavior triggered by monetary incentives or, at the very least, makes it richer. The relational aspect becomes predominant, the interactions between the participants testify to the difficulty of separating the geographical and social dimensions. In the most prominent American clusters, public/private linkages and the building of social links express the centrality of networks in the innovation process. The European vision seeks to articulate entrepreneurial discoveries with vertical public interventions. The competitiveness poles in France suffer from the fact that public choices seem to be torn between two contradictory objectives: efficiency and equity.

This book urges us to be creative in our way of thinking about innovation. Adopting an artificial perspective, the author emphasizes creative rationality: a form of thought that encourages knowledge crossing and invites an adventurous transgression. The question of how such a form of thought might be developed is addressed through a detailed examination of the educational system. The book frees itself from many of the myths that surround innovation, including the predominance of what the author calls the linear and hierarchical model.