MNC involvement in social innovation projects: Exploring the liability of newness

Beskrivning

Social innovation has been increasingly highlighted in the 21st century due to its potential of meeting social, economic, political and environmental challenges. In recent years, there has been a call for an increased participation of multinational companies (MNCs) in social innovation activities, both from the EU and the UN. However, situated on the border between societal development and profit maximization, the role of MNCs in social innovation activities is inherently complex and we know very little about MNCs’ involvement in social innovation.

This research project takes the point of departure that MNCs may suffer from a “liability of newness” when it comes to their involvement in ‘social’ innovation activities. This implies that MNCs’ participation in social innovations can be expected to be different from their involvement in traditional business innovations, and thus will diverge from our existing knowledge on MNCs’ role in developing and leveraging innovations. Due to the current enigma surrounding the role of MNCs in social innovation for both practitioners and academics, this project aims at mapping out the drivers behind MNCs involvement in social innovation projects, how these projects are conducted and what the main barriers and challenges to such involvement are, for instance when it comes to organizing and managing social innovation projects. The results of this study will contribute to not only researchers- but also social and political actors’ knowledge on how MNCs contribute to society through the involvement in social innovation initiatives. From a managerial point of view this research has generated an increased understanding about social innovation practices, in particular what new knowledge and competencies are needed.