Corporate Social Responsibility in an Innovation Era: A Conceptual Exploration

Highly innovative companies, the pacemakers of economies and societies in the 21st century, have recently faced increasing public controversy and governmental scrutiny. In light of various scandals – ranging from alleged roles in election meddling, to data leaks and privacy issues, to the testing of autonomous vehicles and rogue experiments on human genome editing – citizens, policy-makers, and corporate leaders alike are calling for greater corporate responsibility in innovation practice. Yet, existing scholarship on corporate social responsibility (CSR) has paid little explicit attention to the ways in which innovations disrupt social orders and political systems. In this paper, we explore how CSR innovation can address the social and political consequences of innovation. We draw on theories from Science and Technology Studies (STS) and especially the notions of “politics of technology” and “responsible innovation” to identify shared conceptual interests in 6 domains: the boundaries of accountability, affected communities, responsiveness and inclusiveness, socio-cultural embeddedness, citizenship, and the concentration of power. We conclude with some tentative thoughts on implementation options of responsible innovation in corporate settings as part of CSR. Our work provides new opportunities for understanding companies as inclusive organization through the lens of innovation.     «

Highly innovative companies, the pacemakers of economies and societies in the 21st century, have recently faced increasing public controversy and governmental scrutiny. In light of various scandals – ranging from alleged roles in election meddling, to data leaks and privacy issues, to the testing of autonomous vehicles and rogue experiments on human genome editing – citizens, policy-makers, and corporate leaders alike are calling for greater corporate responsibility in innovation practice. Yet,...     »