Systematic Examination of Methods Supporting the Social Innovation Process
Innovation is the key element of economic development and a key factor in social processes. Technical innovations can be identified as prerequisites and causes of social change and cannot be created without the renewal of society. The study of social innovation can be characterised as one of the significant research areas of our day. The study’s aim is to identify the process of social innovation, which can be defined by input, transformation, and output factors. This approach divides the social innovation process into three parts: situation analysis, implementation, follow-up. The methods associated with each stage of the process are illustrated by the chronological line of social innovation. In this study, we have sought to present methodologies that support long- and short-term decision-making that is easy to apply, have different complementary content, and are well visualised for different user groups. When applying the methods, the reference objects are different: county, district, settlement, specific organisation. The solution proposed by the study supports the development of a methodological combination adapted to different situations. Having reviewed metric and conceptualisation issues, we wanted to develop a methodological combination along with a change management logic suitable for structured support to the generation of social innovation in the case of a locality or a specific organisation. In addition to a theoretical summary, in the second part of the study, we want to give a non-exhaustive picture of the two counties located in the north-eastern part of Hungary through specific analyses and case descriptions.
[1] Kocziszky Gy. – Veresné Somosi, M. – Balaton, K. „Társadalmi innováció mérésének sajátosságai (Peculiarities of Measuring Social Innovation)”, In: “Balance and Challenges” IX. International Scientific Conference, Conference Publication (ed.: Katalin Lipták), (2015): 288-301.
[2] Zapf, W. „The role of innovations in modernization theory”, International Review of Sociology, 2(3), (1991): 83-94.
[3] Smeds, R. „Managing Change towards Lean Enterprises”, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 14, Issue: 3, (1994): 66-82.
[4] European Comission. „Green paper on innovation”, (1995) https://europa.eu/documents/comm/green_papers/pdf/com95_688_en.pdf
[5] Introna, L. D. – Moore, H. – Cushman, M. „The Virtual Organisation – Technical or Social Innovation? Lessons from the Film Industry”, Working Paper Series, Department of Information System, London School of Economics and Political Science, (1999) https://www.bioteams.com/Virtual%20Enterprises%20and%20the%20Film%20Industry%20Paper.pdf
[6] European Comission „Towards a European research area: science, technology, and innovation key figures”, Office for Official Publication of the European Communities, Luxembourg, (2005)
[7] Nemes, G. – Varga, Á. „Társadalmi innováció és társadalmi tanulás a vidékfejlesztésben – sikerek, problémák, dilemmák (Social innovation and social learning in rural development - successes, problems, dilemmas)”, In: “Balance and Challenges” IX. International Scientific Conference, Conference Publication (ed.: Katalin Lipták), (2015): 434-444.
[8] Hämäläinen, T. J. – Heiskala, R. „Social innovations, institutional change and economic performance: making sense of strutural adjustment in industrial sectors, regions and societes”, Edward Elgar Publishing, (2007)
[9] Tidd, J. – Bessant, J. – Boedly, K. „Managing innovation: Integrating technological, market and organisational change”, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, (2005)
[10] Murray, R. – Caulier-Grice, J. – Mulgan, G. „The Open Book of Social Innovation”, The Young Foundation, London: NESTA – National Endowment for Science: Technology and the Arts, (2010)
[11] Lundström, A. – Zhou, C. „Promoting innovation based on social sciences and technologies: The prospect of a social innovation park”, Innovation: The European Journal of Social Sciences Research, 24:1-2, (2011): 133-149.
[12] Franz, H.-W. – Hochgerner, J. – Howaldt, J. (ed.). „Challenge Social Innovation”, Springer-Verlag Berlin, Heidelberg, (2012)
[13] Bosworth, G. – Annibal, I. – Carroll, T. – Price, L. – Sellick, J. – Shepherd, J. „Empowering Local Action through Neo-Endogenous Development, The Case of LEADER in England”, Sociologoia Ruralis, 56, (2015): 427-449.
[14] Drucker, P. „Innovation and entrepreneurship”, Harper & Row, Publishers, New York, (1985)
[15] Freeman, C. „Japan: A new national innovation system?” In: Dosi, G. et al. (eds.): Technology and Economy Theory, London, Printer, (1988)
[16] Bulut, C. – Eren, H. – Halac, DS. „Social Innovation and Psychometric Analysis”, Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences 82, (2013): 122-130.
[17] Agbali, M. – Trillo, C. – Arayici, Y. – Fernando, T. „Creating Smart and Healthy Cities by Exploring the Potentials of Emerging Technologies and Social Innovation for Urban Efficiency: Lessons from the Innovative City of Boston”, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Urban and Civil Engineering Vol: 11, No:5, (2017): 617-627.
[18] Kocziszky Gy. – Veresné Somosi M. „Generating social innovation with knowledge engineering”, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 223, (2016): 167–174.
[19] Balaton, K. – Varga, K. „Social innovation and competitiveness – a literature review of the theoretical work in the field”, REVIEW of Economic Studies and Research Virgil Madgearu, 10, No. 2, (2017): 27-42.
[20] Dart, R. „The legitimacy of social enterprise”, Nonprofit Management and Leadership, Vol. 14, No. 4, (2004): 411-424.
[21] Lettice, F. – Parekh, M. „The social innovation process: themes, challenges and implications for practice”, Int. J. Technology Management, Vol. 51, No. 1. (2010): 139-158.
[22] Gladwin, Th. N. – Kennelly, J. J. – Krause, T-Sh. „Shifting paradigms for sustainable development: implications for management theory and research”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 20, No. 4, (1995): 874-907.
[23] Christensen, C. M. „The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail”, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Massachusetts, (1997)
[24] Noci, G. – Verganti, R. „Managing ’green’ product innovation in small firms”, R&D Management, Vol. 29, No. 1. (1999): 3-15.
[25] Mulgan, G. – Tucker, S. – Ali, R. – Sanders, B. „Social Innovation – what it is, why it matters and how it can be accelerated”, The Young Foundation, (2007)
[26] Bessant, J. – Tidd, J. „Innovation and Entrepreneurship”, John Wiley and Sons Ltd, Chichester, (2007)
[27] CRISES - Centre de Recherche sur les Innovations Sociales (2012), https://crises.uqam.ca/
[28] Pue, K. – Vandergeest, Ch. – Breznitz, D. „Toward a theory of social innovation”, Innovation Policy White Paper series 2016-01, (2016), https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/80453/1/Pue%20et%20al_2016_Toward%20a%20Theory%20of%20Social%20Innovation.pdf
[29] Bosua, R. – Evans, N. „Social Networks and Absorptive Capacity”, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Vol:6, No:1, (2012): 104-107.
[30] Edwards-Schachter, M. – Wallace, M. L.”Shaken, but not stirred: Sixty years of defining social innovation”, Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 119, (2017): 64-79.
[31] Mulgan, G. „The Process of Social Innovation”, Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, Vol. 1, Issue 2, (2006): 145-162.
[32] Döringer, S. „Is Social Innovation a Key to ”De-Peripheralization”? Dealing with Challenges of Peripheralization on a Local Level”, (2017) http://epub.oeaw.ac.at/0xc1aa5576%200x0039109b.pdf
[33] Skarzauskiene, A. – Maciuliene, M. „Monitoring Co-Creation: A Survey of Lithuanian Urban Communities”, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Information and Communication Engineering Vol:12, No:11, (2018): 1019-1024.
[34] Babbie, E. „The Practice of Social Research”, 14th edition, Cengage Learning, Inc, (2016)
[35] Pataki, Gy. – Vári, A. (ed.). „Részvétel – akció – kutatás: Magyarországi tapasztalatok a részvételi-, akció- és kooperatív kutatásokból, (Participation - action - research: Hungarian experiences from participatory, action and cooperative research)”, Sociological Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest
[36] Gosztonyi, M. „Egy részvételi akciókutatás folyamata, megvalósítása és eredményei egy hátrányos helyzetű faluban (The process, implementation and results of a participatory action research in a disadvantaged village)”, KOVÁSZ, XXII., 1-4. (2019): 31-52.
[37] Lewin, K. „Action Research and Minority Problems”, Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 2, (4), (1946): 34-46.
[38] Kemmis, S. – McTaggart, R. „The action research planner”, Victoria: Deakin University Press, (1988)
[39] Bodorkós, B. „Társadalmi részvétel a fenntartható vidékfejlesztésben: a részvételi akciókutatás lehetőségei (Social participation in sustainable rural development: opportunities for participatory action research)”, doctoral dissertation, Gödöllő, (2010)
[40] Málovics, Gy. – Juhász, J. – Mihók, B. – Szentistványi, I. – Nagy M. „Részvételi akciókutatással a társadalmi kirekesztés ellen: egy szegedi példa tanulságai (Participatory action research against social exclusion: lessons from an example from Szeged)”, Tér és Társadalom (Space and Society), 28(3), (2014): 66-83.
[41] Kindon, S. – Pain, R. – Kesby, M. „Participatory Action Research”, In: Kindon, S. – Pain, R. – Kesby, M. (ed.) Participatory Action Research Approaches and Methods: connecting people, participation and place, Routledge, New York, (2007)
[42] Takács, F. „Az esettanulmány mint módszertan a szociológiában (The case study as a methodology in sociology)”, Szociológiai Szemle (Sociological Review), 27(1), (2017): 126–132.
[43] Kolk, A. – Lenfant, F. „Cross-sector collaboration, institutional gaps, and fragility: the role of social innovation partnerships in a conflict-affected region”, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 34(2), (2015): 287-303.
[44] Grabow, B. – Schneider, S. „Case study: the idea of sustainable city budgets in Germany”, In: Mieg, A. H. – Töpfer, Kl. (eds.): Institutional and Social Innovation for Sustainable Urban Development, Routledge, New York, (2013)
[45] Bund, E. – Hubrich, D-K. – Schmitz, B. – Mildenberger, G. – Krlev, G. „Blueprint of Social Innovation Metrics – Contributions to an Understanding of the Opportunities and Challenges of Social Innovation Measurement”, A deliverable of the project: “The theoretical, empirical and policy foundations for building social innovation in Europe” (TEPSIE), European Commission – 7 th Framework Programme, Brussels: European Commission, DG Research, (2013)
[46] Oosterlynck, S. – Cantillon, B. – Bouverne-De Bie, M. – Loopmans, M. – Evers, A. – Verschragen, G. „Conclusion: local social innovation and welfare reform”, In: Oosterlynck, S. et al. (eds.): Local Social Innovation – To Combat Poverty and Exclusion, A Critical Appraisal, Policy Press, Bristol, Chicago, (2020)
[47] Szendi, D. „A társadalmi innovációs potenciál mérésének lokális szintű lehetőségei (Possibilities of measuring social innovation potential at the local level)”, Erdélyi Társadalom (Transylvanian Society), 16 (1), (2018): 31-58.
[48] Varga, K. – Tóth, G. – Nagy, Z. „Examination of Social Innovation Potential Characteristics in the Example of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County”, Theory Methodology Practice: Club of Economics in Miskolc 16:01 (2020): 65-76.
[1] Kocziszky Gy. – Veresné Somosi, M. – Balaton, K. „Társadalmi innováció mérésének sajátosságai (Peculiarities of Measuring Social Innovation)”, In: “Balance and Challenges” IX. International Scientific Conference, Conference Publication (ed.: Katalin Lipták), (2015): 288-301.
[2] Zapf, W. „The role of innovations in modernization theory”, International Review of Sociology, 2(3), (1991): 83-94.
[3] Smeds, R. „Managing Change towards Lean Enterprises”, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 14, Issue: 3, (1994): 66-82.
[4] European Comission. „Green paper on innovation”, (1995) https://europa.eu/documents/comm/green_papers/pdf/com95_688_en.pdf
[5] Introna, L. D. – Moore, H. – Cushman, M. „The Virtual Organisation – Technical or Social Innovation? Lessons from the Film Industry”, Working Paper Series, Department of Information System, London School of Economics and Political Science, (1999) https://www.bioteams.com/Virtual%20Enterprises%20and%20the%20Film%20Industry%20Paper.pdf
[6] European Comission „Towards a European research area: science, technology, and innovation key figures”, Office for Official Publication of the European Communities, Luxembourg, (2005)
[7] Nemes, G. – Varga, Á. „Társadalmi innováció és társadalmi tanulás a vidékfejlesztésben – sikerek, problémák, dilemmák (Social innovation and social learning in rural development - successes, problems, dilemmas)”, In: “Balance and Challenges” IX. International Scientific Conference, Conference Publication (ed.: Katalin Lipták), (2015): 434-444.
[8] Hämäläinen, T. J. – Heiskala, R. „Social innovations, institutional change and economic performance: making sense of strutural adjustment in industrial sectors, regions and societes”, Edward Elgar Publishing, (2007)
[9] Tidd, J. – Bessant, J. – Boedly, K. „Managing innovation: Integrating technological, market and organisational change”, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, (2005)
[10] Murray, R. – Caulier-Grice, J. – Mulgan, G. „The Open Book of Social Innovation”, The Young Foundation, London: NESTA – National Endowment for Science: Technology and the Arts, (2010)
[11] Lundström, A. – Zhou, C. „Promoting innovation based on social sciences and technologies: The prospect of a social innovation park”, Innovation: The European Journal of Social Sciences Research, 24:1-2, (2011): 133-149.
[12] Franz, H.-W. – Hochgerner, J. – Howaldt, J. (ed.). „Challenge Social Innovation”, Springer-Verlag Berlin, Heidelberg, (2012)
[13] Bosworth, G. – Annibal, I. – Carroll, T. – Price, L. – Sellick, J. – Shepherd, J. „Empowering Local Action through Neo-Endogenous Development, The Case of LEADER in England”, Sociologoia Ruralis, 56, (2015): 427-449.
[14] Drucker, P. „Innovation and entrepreneurship”, Harper & Row, Publishers, New York, (1985)
[15] Freeman, C. „Japan: A new national innovation system?” In: Dosi, G. et al. (eds.): Technology and Economy Theory, London, Printer, (1988)
[16] Bulut, C. – Eren, H. – Halac, DS. „Social Innovation and Psychometric Analysis”, Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences 82, (2013): 122-130.
[17] Agbali, M. – Trillo, C. – Arayici, Y. – Fernando, T. „Creating Smart and Healthy Cities by Exploring the Potentials of Emerging Technologies and Social Innovation for Urban Efficiency: Lessons from the Innovative City of Boston”, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Urban and Civil Engineering Vol: 11, No:5, (2017): 617-627.
[18] Kocziszky Gy. – Veresné Somosi M. „Generating social innovation with knowledge engineering”, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 223, (2016): 167–174.
[19] Balaton, K. – Varga, K. „Social innovation and competitiveness – a literature review of the theoretical work in the field”, REVIEW of Economic Studies and Research Virgil Madgearu, 10, No. 2, (2017): 27-42.
[20] Dart, R. „The legitimacy of social enterprise”, Nonprofit Management and Leadership, Vol. 14, No. 4, (2004): 411-424.
[21] Lettice, F. – Parekh, M. „The social innovation process: themes, challenges and implications for practice”, Int. J. Technology Management, Vol. 51, No. 1. (2010): 139-158.
[22] Gladwin, Th. N. – Kennelly, J. J. – Krause, T-Sh. „Shifting paradigms for sustainable development: implications for management theory and research”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 20, No. 4, (1995): 874-907.
[23] Christensen, C. M. „The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail”, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Massachusetts, (1997)
[24] Noci, G. – Verganti, R. „Managing ’green’ product innovation in small firms”, R&D Management, Vol. 29, No. 1. (1999): 3-15.
[25] Mulgan, G. – Tucker, S. – Ali, R. – Sanders, B. „Social Innovation – what it is, why it matters and how it can be accelerated”, The Young Foundation, (2007)
[26] Bessant, J. – Tidd, J. „Innovation and Entrepreneurship”, John Wiley and Sons Ltd, Chichester, (2007)
[27] CRISES - Centre de Recherche sur les Innovations Sociales (2012), https://crises.uqam.ca/
[28] Pue, K. – Vandergeest, Ch. – Breznitz, D. „Toward a theory of social innovation”, Innovation Policy White Paper series 2016-01, (2016), https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/80453/1/Pue%20et%20al_2016_Toward%20a%20Theory%20of%20Social%20Innovation.pdf
[29] Bosua, R. – Evans, N. „Social Networks and Absorptive Capacity”, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Vol:6, No:1, (2012): 104-107.
[30] Edwards-Schachter, M. – Wallace, M. L.”Shaken, but not stirred: Sixty years of defining social innovation”, Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 119, (2017): 64-79.
[31] Mulgan, G. „The Process of Social Innovation”, Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, Vol. 1, Issue 2, (2006): 145-162.
[32] Döringer, S. „Is Social Innovation a Key to ”De-Peripheralization”? Dealing with Challenges of Peripheralization on a Local Level”, (2017) http://epub.oeaw.ac.at/0xc1aa5576%200x0039109b.pdf
[33] Skarzauskiene, A. – Maciuliene, M. „Monitoring Co-Creation: A Survey of Lithuanian Urban Communities”, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Information and Communication Engineering Vol:12, No:11, (2018): 1019-1024.
[34] Babbie, E. „The Practice of Social Research”, 14th edition, Cengage Learning, Inc, (2016)
[35] Pataki, Gy. – Vári, A. (ed.). „Részvétel – akció – kutatás: Magyarországi tapasztalatok a részvételi-, akció- és kooperatív kutatásokból, (Participation - action - research: Hungarian experiences from participatory, action and cooperative research)”, Sociological Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest
[36] Gosztonyi, M. „Egy részvételi akciókutatás folyamata, megvalósítása és eredményei egy hátrányos helyzetű faluban (The process, implementation and results of a participatory action research in a disadvantaged village)”, KOVÁSZ, XXII., 1-4. (2019): 31-52.
[37] Lewin, K. „Action Research and Minority Problems”, Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 2, (4), (1946): 34-46.
[38] Kemmis, S. – McTaggart, R. „The action research planner”, Victoria: Deakin University Press, (1988)
[39] Bodorkós, B. „Társadalmi részvétel a fenntartható vidékfejlesztésben: a részvételi akciókutatás lehetőségei (Social participation in sustainable rural development: opportunities for participatory action research)”, doctoral dissertation, Gödöllő, (2010)
[40] Málovics, Gy. – Juhász, J. – Mihók, B. – Szentistványi, I. – Nagy M. „Részvételi akciókutatással a társadalmi kirekesztés ellen: egy szegedi példa tanulságai (Participatory action research against social exclusion: lessons from an example from Szeged)”, Tér és Társadalom (Space and Society), 28(3), (2014): 66-83.
[41] Kindon, S. – Pain, R. – Kesby, M. „Participatory Action Research”, In: Kindon, S. – Pain, R. – Kesby, M. (ed.) Participatory Action Research Approaches and Methods: connecting people, participation and place, Routledge, New York, (2007)
[42] Takács, F. „Az esettanulmány mint módszertan a szociológiában (The case study as a methodology in sociology)”, Szociológiai Szemle (Sociological Review), 27(1), (2017): 126–132.
[43] Kolk, A. – Lenfant, F. „Cross-sector collaboration, institutional gaps, and fragility: the role of social innovation partnerships in a conflict-affected region”, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 34(2), (2015): 287-303.
[44] Grabow, B. – Schneider, S. „Case study: the idea of sustainable city budgets in Germany”, In: Mieg, A. H. – Töpfer, Kl. (eds.): Institutional and Social Innovation for Sustainable Urban Development, Routledge, New York, (2013)
[45] Bund, E. – Hubrich, D-K. – Schmitz, B. – Mildenberger, G. – Krlev, G. „Blueprint of Social Innovation Metrics – Contributions to an Understanding of the Opportunities and Challenges of Social Innovation Measurement”, A deliverable of the project: “The theoretical, empirical and policy foundations for building social innovation in Europe” (TEPSIE), European Commission – 7 th Framework Programme, Brussels: European Commission, DG Research, (2013)
[46] Oosterlynck, S. – Cantillon, B. – Bouverne-De Bie, M. – Loopmans, M. – Evers, A. – Verschragen, G. „Conclusion: local social innovation and welfare reform”, In: Oosterlynck, S. et al. (eds.): Local Social Innovation – To Combat Poverty and Exclusion, A Critical Appraisal, Policy Press, Bristol, Chicago, (2020)
[47] Szendi, D. „A társadalmi innovációs potenciál mérésének lokális szintű lehetőségei (Possibilities of measuring social innovation potential at the local level)”, Erdélyi Társadalom (Transylvanian Society), 16 (1), (2018): 31-58.
[48] Varga, K. – Tóth, G. – Nagy, Z. „Examination of Social Innovation Potential Characteristics in the Example of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County”, Theory Methodology Practice: Club of Economics in Miskolc 16:01 (2020): 65-76.
@article{"International Journal of Business, Human and Social Sciences:80377", author = "Mariann Veresne Somosi and Zoltan Nagy and Krisztina Varga", title = "Systematic Examination of Methods Supporting the Social Innovation Process", abstract = "Innovation is the key element of economic development and a key factor in social processes. Technical innovations can be identified as prerequisites and causes of social change and cannot be created without the renewal of society. The study of social innovation can be characterised as one of the significant research areas of our day. The study’s aim is to identify the process of social innovation, which can be defined by input, transformation, and output factors. This approach divides the social innovation process into three parts: situation analysis, implementation, follow-up. The methods associated with each stage of the process are illustrated by the chronological line of social innovation. In this study, we have sought to present methodologies that support long- and short-term decision-making that is easy to apply, have different complementary content, and are well visualised for different user groups. When applying the methods, the reference objects are different: county, district, settlement, specific organisation. The solution proposed by the study supports the development of a methodological combination adapted to different situations. Having reviewed metric and conceptualisation issues, we wanted to develop a methodological combination along with a change management logic suitable for structured support to the generation of social innovation in the case of a locality or a specific organisation. In addition to a theoretical summary, in the second part of the study, we want to give a non-exhaustive picture of the two counties located in the north-eastern part of Hungary through specific analyses and case descriptions.
", keywords = "Factors of social innovation, methodological combination, social innovation process, supporting decision-making.", volume = "15", number = "6", pages = "475-11", }
