Title: A dialectic on innovation and sustainability

Authors: Ricardo Ruiz Freire; Emmanuel Costa; José Luiz Alves; Cristóvão De Souza Brito

Addresses: Faculty of Administration Sciences, University of Pernambuco, Recife, PE, 52041-581, Brazil ' Faculty of Administration Sciences, University of Pernambuco, Recife, PE, 52041-581, Brazil ' Faculty of Administration Sciences, University of Pernambuco, Recife, PE, 52041-581, Brazil ' Faculty of Administration Sciences, University of Pernambuco, Recife, PE, 52041-581, Brazil

Abstract: This paper discusses concepts of social and technological innovation in order to analyse their relations and contradictions. After a long period in which innovation was related to social processes, it has been related to technological and economic development in the last century. Social innovation as a concept has acquired a restrictive meaning, being defined by many as actions to combat social exclusions and environmental degradation promoted by technological innovation. This study suggests a concept for innovation and its influence upon environmental sustainability through a bibliographical analysis that demonstrates how innovation processes are techno-socially related. It uses an analytic matrix that allows to compare these concepts to understand how socio-technical innovations promote environmental, social and economical sustainability. At the end, it recommends more studies to determine and measure the innovative sustainable practices of an organisation in both the social and technological spheres.

Keywords: innovation; social innovation; technological innovation; sustainability; linear innovation model; 3D printing; innovation process; innovation concept; innovation and sustainability; dialetic on innovation; innovation for organisations.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISD.2019.100399

International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, 2019 Vol.13 No.3/4, pp.246 - 258

Received: 29 Mar 2018
Accepted: 24 Jul 2018
Published online: 28 Jun 2019 *

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