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The humanization of the economy through social innovation
Abstract
In his book The Great Transformation (1944), Karl Polanyi introduced the concept of a double movement in society. The first movement is towards marketization: the spread of market thinking and market-based forms of allocation throughout society, driven by international trade and naturalist ideas of competition and utilitarianism. The second movement consists of social protection against the negative consequences of that same marketization through state-based social security systems. This second movement has taken several forms, such as the creation of factory regulations (offering protection against work place hazards and worker exploitation), social security of some sort (state-based poor relief and support for the old and sick), and rise of (nationalistic) fascist parties (promising protection from threats to culture or country). In this paper, we argue that Polanyi's two-movement model is best reformulated as a three-movement model of i) marketization, 2) state-based social protection and 3) the humanization of the economy. The third movement is a countermovement to the first movement and to some elements of the second movement. Like its two cousins, the humanization movement reaches across sectors, and is based on specific organizing principles that shape the characteristics of formal and informal governing institutions. The three movement model helps to make sense of current developments: the rise in humanization initiatives, against the background of marketization and reform of the welfare state. We view this third movement as a process of humanization and re-embedding as the opposite of dis-embedding: the loss of social ties and sense of purpose in individualistic societies. It is not re-embedding in the sense of restoring the past, which in our view, was not a time of happily embedded people. Efforts at or processes of re-embedding can, however, involve the re-discovery or restoration of old organisational forms, which are then recreated in a modern form. The paper makes a contribution to the literature on transformation and social innovation. It is based on a dialectic view of the world containing different logics which interact with each other but also have their own vehicles for change in the form of institutions, networks, practices, and self-legitimation. Empirically the focus is on Western countries and social innovation initiatives that are based on a positive appreciation of social ties (human bonds), the commons, practices of sharing and collaborating with an important role for personal integrity and intrinsic motivations. 1 This paper is based on research for the TRANSIT project and is an attempt at theoretical generalisation. TRANSIT is an international research project that develops a theory of Transformative Social Innovation that is useful to both research and practice. It is co-funded by the European Commission (grant agreement no 613169) and runs for four years, from 2014 until 2017. The TRANSIT consortium consists of 12 partners across Europe and Latin America. For more information, see http://www.transitsocialinnovation.eu/. We thank Pieter Glasbergen for offering critical comments on an earlier version. 2
... Market provision is often associated with efficiency and self-interest, civil society and family provision with community and solidarity, and state provision with democracy and justice. These value concepts are not necessarily or exclusively tied to the respective modes, and therefore dynamics of change and extension are possible: There are calls for a 'transfer of values' from one mode of provision to another, such as calls for more efficiency in state and civil society, or inversely for 'humanizing' the economy (Kemp et al. 2016). There are also objections to such 'transfers', such as warnings of profit maximization colonizing civil society and the family etc. ...
... 13 But see Roberto Unger (2015), who discusses social innovation in terms of his emancipatory philosophy of enhancing human freedom. Kemp et al. (2016) say that their approach of humanizing the economy is based on a combination of liberalism and communitarianism (Kemp et al 2016). Jacobi et al. (2017) link a focus on social innovation and marginalization to a basic justice perspective based on the capabilities approach. ...
... 13 But see Roberto Unger (2015), who discusses social innovation in terms of his emancipatory philosophy of enhancing human freedom. Kemp et al. (2016) say that their approach of humanizing the economy is based on a combination of liberalism and communitarianism (Kemp et al 2016). Jacobi et al. (2017) link a focus on social innovation and marginalization to a basic justice perspective based on the capabilities approach. ...
The rise of social innovation expresses a discontent with innovation as we know it, and its ability to deliver just and sustainable outcomes. Yet, social innovation is also notoriously vague as a concept, thereby putting into doubt whether the concept offers any real improvements or alternatives. This paper issues an invitation to think about social innovation as a collaborative concept. The conceptual framework shows collaboration, rather than contestation, to offer a space for the working together of different perspectives and actors. The collaborative concept frame welcomes and seeks to explain a diversity of uses. Singling out key features of social innovation as a collaborative concept, it seeks to contribute to an emerging practice that makes different contributions part of a progressive conversation about social innovation, the evaluative ideas associated with it and the evidence from policies and projects. Identifying transformative, taxonomical and transitional–sceptical uses of social innovation, the paper highlights the importance of analysing the evaluative aspects of the multisectoral reconfigurations associated with social innovation so as to keep track of its role for justice and sustainability.
... The authors mention the Western-world renaissance of Do-it-Yourself practices, which gained innovative significance in these contexts for their opposition against mass-manufactured consumption. The many recent proposals of new organizational forms, solidarity-based relations, and alternative business models appear innovative against the backdrop of commercialized and bureaucratized societal structures (Kemp et al. 2016). This restorative side of SI has also been recognized in grassroots innovation scholarship, in the 'shadowy side of innovation' as described by Shove (2012, 372) and in the understanding of SI as 'repair work' (Schubert 2019). ...
Social innovation (SI) is gaining attention as an innovation category. However, the SI concept proves vulnerable to stereotypical understandings. Next to the radically novel, diffusion-oriented and thereby manifestly innovative social ‘niches’, it is important to also acknowledge the rather latent SI phenomena of restoration and shielding. This paper therefore develops a critical-historicizing perspective that highlights the social construction of innovations in social relations. Building on scholarship in Strategic Niche Management, grassroots innovation and critical innovation studies, four ‘shapes of social innovation’ are distinguished. Substantiating and deepening this conceptual classification through empirical evidence on 20 SI initiatives, the analysis highlights how social innovations may take on several of the theorised appearances throughout their existence in society (shapeshifting). Disclosing overlooked SI phenomena, this critical-historicizing understanding informs more comprehensive and balanced SI research and practice
... Social innovation as a process responds to at least three different stimuli: intrinsic needs people have (e.g., for self-determination, social bonds, and to be engaged in activities and relationships they find meaningful); perceived failings of mainstream systems or gaps in mainstream provision; and, change in the wider socio-material context that present problems or opportunities . Kemp et al. (2016) argue that social innovation is often a reaction to institutions and developments that are perceived as "dehumanizing." People who form social innovation initiatives are often drawn together by shared values, shared ways of seeing, framing or reframing challenges and shared visions of how to address challenges 'differently'. ...
Aging is continuously depicted as a force majeure event despite clear and robust premonitions of its coming. However, such depiction serves to justify the unpreparedness and inadequacy of policies manifesting in loneliness and isolation, unsatisfied demands in health and social care, lack of suitably inclusive residential and social facilities, and inequitable access to support and services. Recent years have seen an increase in social innovation that involves alternative transaction models, such as time-banks and circular economies. These initiatives represent collective responses to changes and challenges such as aging by identifying and innovatively capturing and exchanging locally- and freely- available assets with the intent to fulfill economic needs (more affordable goods and services), social ambitions (skills development and exchange, repurposing space, social inclusion, and cohesion) environmental aspirations (up-cycle) and psychological needs (sense of purpose, identity, belonging, recognition). Whilst it is often assumed that ad hoc measures are appropriate to resolve the challenges posed by an aging demographic, the learnt assumption that underpins this work is that aging is a systemic issue and ought to be understood, and resolved, in its context, not by producing niche- relevant policy and interventions, but considering the impacts it has on the whole society. Henceforth it is proposed that truly transformative social innovation for the aging population must consider and resolve the challenges of communities as these are where older adults can stay relevant socially and, in the presented approach, also economically. Through the review of four international case studies, a framework with four cornerstones has emerged. This includes the changing role of local and central governments, the models of value creation, co-creation mechanisms, and finally, technology, especially digital social currency. The concurrent presence of the four factors in the framework is not always a requirement for social innovation to emerge and flourish. However, the presented analysis suggests that all four themes have an impact even when not being direct agents of social innovation. The authors conclude by making a case for developing Living Labs for Aging-in-Place, to experiment and study proposed solutions for systemic challenges facing the aging population, grounded in community-led schemes.
... Finally, Kemp et al. (2016) explain that the many local alternatives that have sprung up throughout the world should not be considered as isolated but rather as the manifestation of what they call, in reference to Polanyi, a bottom-up movement for the "humanization of the economy." They use the term "humanization of the economy" as an umbrella term to cover activities of living and working based on values of reciprocity, responsibility, citizenship, integrity and autonomy, connectedness and trust (e.g. ...
... 93 If these are the underlying problems, then Kemp et al.'s proposal to re-embed the economy in society and nature points towards an interesting route for solutions. 94 Building on Polanyi, they observe a triple movement in society: marketisation, the spread of market thinking and coordination throughout society, state-based social protection and (here they extend Polanyi's analysis) a humanisation of the economy, re-embedding it into society and nature. 95 With the latter movement, based on a major European research project on social innovation, they refer to "less hierarchi-cal forms of decision-making in business and public organisations, new and nonprofit ownership models, greater self-determination in work, ethics-based forms of consumption (…) commons-based peer production, social enterprises, alternative currencies, communal ways of living and working, the sharing of urban spaces and participatory budgeting (…) in all sectors." ...
The final chapter of this volume explores how – at this moment in time – strategies can be developed in the Netherlands to achieve sustainable well-being. In addition to key problems like the non-circularity of supply chains and the vast increase in volumes of mass flows since 1960 (cf. Chap. 22) the Netherlands is also struggling with a ‘welfare paradox,’ i.e. high levels of welfare accompanied by widespread alienation and cynicism. The development of a circular economy and the achievement of sustainable levels of mass-flows are the key goals. Three strategies to achieve these goals are described: regeneration, restoration, and de-materialisation. For all four cases described in Chap. 23 it is shown how each of the three strategies contributes to more circularity and more manageable mass flows. In a final section it is argued that the transition toward a circular economy harbours promises about resolving both some patent defects of the market system as well as a potential resolution of the “welfare paradox” by aiming at an economy that is integrated into society and that fosters markets and social institutions that include, rather than exclude, ordinary citizens.
... A starting point for exploring this in TRANSIT has been the concept of social-economic development waves as articulated by Polanyi. It has been further developed by Kemp et al. (2016) in this project with the idea of a third movement of the 're-embedding of the economy' which posits that TSI can be understood as part of a 'third wave' (a response to earlier waves of marketization and bureaucratization) that involves 're-embedding' or 'humanisation' of socialeconomic development. TSI journeys emerge and develop in a wider historical context. ...
The article focuses on the analysis of geopolitical and geostrategic essence of the following cooperation projects: Eastern Partnership Program (EaP) of the European Union, Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). At the same time it reveals the main declared and latent goals of the above mentioned Eurasian cooperation projects, as well as of the EaP countries with regard to those projects. The article also analyzes the Visegrad experience in cooperation culture. Finally the research argues that as the EaP region is situated on geographical, geopolitical and civilizational cross-roads, it should become the “bridge” of cooperation among the above mentioned stakeholders through humanization and development of cooperation culture.
This article focuses on the analysis of geopolitical and geostrategic essence of the following integration projects: Eastern Partnership Program (EaP) of the European Union, Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). I argue that as the six Eastern Partnership countries are geographically and geopolitically situated on the cross-roads of these projects, they should become the “bridge” of cooperation and dialogue among them.
From this perspective, the main research goal is to understand the essence of each inte-gration project separately. The actor and interest analysis will allow the main declared and latent goals of the above-mentioned Eurasian integration projects to be revealed. At the same time, the article aims to reveal and understand foreign policy priorities of the Eastern Partnership participant countries within the framework of globalization and Eurasian regionalization.
Taking into consideration a wide range of symmetric and asymmetric challenges and thre-ats in Eastern Partnership countries, specifically in the South Caucasus, all the actors need more peaceful, stable and cooperative regions. In this context, the research understands “Eurasian dialogue through cooperation” as factor of humanization of the region based on promotion of cooperation culture. This article argues that EaP should be modernized to become the platform of humanization of the Eurasian security architecture and “bridge” regional integration processes in Eurasia.
The article focuses on the analysis of geopolitical and geostrategic essence of the following cooperation projects: Eastern Partnership Program (EaP) of the European Union, Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). At the same time it reveals the main declared and latent goals of the above mentioned Eurasian cooperation projects, as well as of the EaP countries with regard to those projects. The article also analyzes the Visegrad experience in cooperation culture.
Finally the research argues that as the EaP region is situated on geographical, geopolitical and civilizational cross-roads, it should become the “bridge” of cooperation among the above mentioned stakeholders through humanization and development of cooperation culture.
This book builds on the idea that peer-to-peer infrastructures are gradually becoming the general conditions of work, economy, and society. Using a four-scenario approach, the authors seek to simplify possible outcomes and to explore relevant trajectories of the current techno-economic paradigm within and beyond capitalism. © Vasilis Kostakis and Michel Bauwens 2014. All rights reserved.
The contributors provide an overview of theoretical perspectives, methodologies and instructive experiences from all continents, as well as implications for collective action and policy. They argue strongly for social innovation as a key to human development. The Handbook defines social innovation as innovation in social relations within both micro and macro spheres, with the purpose of satisfying unmet or new human needs across different layers of society. It connects social innovation to empowerment dynamics, thus giving a political character to social movements and bottom-up governance initiatives. Together these should lay the foundations for a fairer, more democratic society for all.
Has modernity killed “community”? What is the social dimension of sustainability and why is community relevant for it? After a sociological discussion whether community is a category of the past or has revived in a new fashion and Communitarian efforts to combine individual freedom and communal cooperation the author examines the innovative potential of intentional communities—which are (post)modern up-to-date and have pre-modern roots at the same time. Do intentional communities offer solutions to the dilemma between individual freedom and communal cooperation? In this study they are seen as “living laboratories” of communal and ecological living. Participant observation during several week-long visits in seven intentional communities (mainly in Germany) was conducted to observe the most innovative methods in sustainable community building combining individual freedom and communal cooperation. Results are social-ecological key principles distilled from the experiences in intentional communities in the areas of membership governance, decision making, and communication. How these principles may be transferred into community practice are illustrated by examples from the communities under study.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to add to the understanding of the qualitative job insecurity, i.e. the insecurity about the continuity of valued job aspects in future. Specifically, the paper examines whether qualitative job insecurity is related to counterproductive work behavior (CWB), both directed to the organization (i.e. CWB-O) and other individuals at work (i.e. CWB-I), and whether frustration of the basic psychological needs of autonomy, belongingness and competence, as defined in self-determination theory, may account for these relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
– The hypothesis were examined using structural equation modeling in heterogeneous sample of Romanian employees.
Findings
– Results support the hypotheses showing that feeling insecure about one's valued job aspects associates with high levels of need frustration and, therefore, also with both CWB-O and CWB-I. While each of the accounted for the associations of qualitative insecurity and CWB-O, only frustration of the need for autonomy explained its detrimental association with CWB-I.
Originality/value
– This study is innovative, as it integrates and extends three different fields and has high practical relevance. The authors detail qualitative job insecurity, an increasing, but understudied job stressor. The authors extend research on the antecedents of CWB by focussing on environmental factors. The authors develop need satisfaction, as integrative theoretical underlying mechanism.
Humans have a potential for growth, integration, and well-being, while also being vulnerable to defensiveness, aggression, and ill-being. Self-determination theory (R. M. Ryan & E. L. Deci, 2000, Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development and well-being, American Psychologist, Vol. 55, pp. 68–78) argues that satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness both fosters immediate well-being and strengthens inner resources contributing to subsequent resilience, whereas need frustration evokes ill-being and increased vulnerabilities for defensiveness and psychopathology. We briefly review recent research indicating how contextual need support and the experience of need satisfaction promote well-being and different growth manifestations (e.g., intrinsic motivation, internalization), as well as a rapidly growing body of work relating need thwarting and need frustration to ill-being, pursuit of need substitutes, and various forms of maladaptive functioning. Finally, we discuss research on differences in autonomous self-regulation and mindfulness, which serve as factors of resilience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)
This paper examines key issues raised by consideration of diversity in the study of environmental innovation and societal transitions. In different ways and degrees, these implicate many contrasting perspectives, including innovation studies, evolutionary economics and transitions research. The paper therefore attends equally to the implications of plurality among disciplines as observing subjects and varieties of sociotechnical configurations as observed objects. Inspired by recent literatures in these fields, the argument focuses in turn on: contending social normativities concerning alternative directions for innovation; divergent disciplinary understandings of societal transitions; and disparate conceptualisations of sociotechnical diversity itself. In each area, the paper identifies some persistent forms of ‘misplaced concreteness’. Recommendations are made as to how the implications of diversity might be addressed in more rigorous and reflective ways. In conclusion, it is shown how rigour and reflexivity themselves depend on plural analytical communities paying greater regard to diversity and striking their own balance between pluralism and concreteness. This highlights a series of specific, but hitherto unresolved, research questions.
The present study focused on the function of autonomy for individuals from a collectivistic culture, thereby differentiating between two prevailing conceptualizations of autonomy - namely, autonomy as independence and autonomy as self-endorsed functioning. Participants were 573 Chinese adolescents from both urban and rural regions. Autonomy as independence (versus dependence) was operationalized as the degree of independent decision making within the family, whereas autonomy as self-endorsed (versus controlled) functioning was operationalized in terms of the degree of self-endorsement reflected in motives underlying both independent and dependent decision making. Basic psychological need satisfaction was examined as an explanatory mechanism (i.e., mediator) of the association between autonomy and well-being. Results showed that relatively more self-endorsed motives for both independent and dependent decision making yielded a unique positive relation with psychological well-being, with psychological need satisfaction playing an intervening role in these associations. In contrast, the degree of independent decision making as such did not yield any significant relations with well-being or need satisfaction. Moreover, individual differences in collectivistic cultural orientation did not moderate any of the above associations. Discussion focuses on the distinction between the two viewpoints of autonomy and their meaning for Chinese adolescents.
We review the main theoretical conclusions from a quarter century of comparative studies of welfare states in the affluent democracies. We contrast early debates over the relative importance of industrialization, economic growth, and social classes for explaining welfare state differences with contemporary claims about the role of globalization, postindustrialism, and gender relations in shaping their futures. We evaluate the claims against recent empirical evidence with the aim of highlighting both important lessons from the past and promising directions for future analysis.
Young people's experience of work in today's world is characterised by insecurity and vulnerability. At the same time, an ideological discourse has gained currency which personalises social problems and attributes them to psychological factors. A study of the discourse of young Spaniards from different social backgrounds revealed the presence of individualistic attitudes, together with a strong feeling of powerlessness that makes it difficult for them to see a way out of their situation. Their experience serves to illustrate the psycho-social consequences of the trend for modern methods of production to be accompanied by the spread of deregulation, a tendency for inequality to be taken for granted and the attribution of social problems to personal factors. The social cohesion of modern industrialised societies, which is based on security and the predictability of future events, is being replaced in so-called post-industrial societies by an emphasis on individual risk management which places the worker in an extremely vulnerable position.
Self-determination theory is a macro-theory of human motivation, emotion, and personality that has been under development for 40 years following the seminal work of Edward Deci and Richard Ryan. Self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985b, 2000; Niemiec, Ryan, & Deci, in press; Ryan & Deci, 2000; Vansteenkiste, Ryan, & Deci, 2008) has been advanced in a cumulative, research-driven manner, as new ideas have been naturally and steadily integrated into the theory following sufficient empirical support, which has helped SDT maintain its internal consistency. To use a metaphor, the development of SDT is similar to the construction of a puzzle. Over the years, new pieces have been added to the theory once their fit was determined. At present, dozens of scholars throughout the world continue to add their piece to the ‘‘SDT puzzle,’’ and hundreds of practitioners working with all age groups, and in various domains and cultures, have used SDT to inform their practice. Herein, we provide an historical overview of the development of the five mini-theories (viz., cognitive evaluation theory, organismic integration theory, causality orientations theory, basic needs theory, and goal content theory) that constitute SDT, discuss emerging trends within those mini-theories, elucidate similarities with and differences from other theoretical frameworks, and suggest directions for future research
Although today’s nonprofit organizations make a strong appeal to vol- unteers, they often have difficulties with attracting and retaining these free labor forces. In this sense, studying the motivation of volunteers and its effects proves useful. In the present article, we investigate the relationship between volunteers’ motivation and their self-reported work effort, while relying on the Self-Determi- nation Theory. The results indicate a positive link between volunteers’ autonomous motivation and work effort. Moreover, this relationship holds for each person in our sample, irrespective of the organization in which she/he is volunteering. Implica- tions for future research, as well as the practical impact of these findings, are discussed.
This paper attempts to provide a clear perspective on defining the social economy today. It addresses the question of the relevance of a unifying concept with its need to embrace the existing diversity of approaches and concepts. To this end, it surveys both historical and contemporary academic literature, as well as practice-rooted conceptualisations of the social economy. The first section outlines the analytical challenges to a reconstruction of the social economy concept. The second enhances the historical and space-bound diversity in theorising and institutionalising social economy practices. Section 3 focuses on contemporary reconceptualisations of the social economy in Francophone and Anglo-Saxon literature, while section 4 then suggests improvements to current 'social economy' concepts, by linking them to both the lessons of history and the views of social economy practitioners today.
Urban residents share access to a number of local resources in which they have a common stake. These resources range from local streets and parks to public spaces to a variety of shared neighborhood amenities. Collectively shared urban resources suffer from the same rivalry and free-riding problems that Garrett Hardin described in his Tragedy of the Commons tale. Scholars have not yet worked up a theory about how this tragedy unfolds in the urban context, particularly in light of existing government regulation and control of common urban resources. This Article argues that the tragedy of the urban commons unfolds during periods of “regulatory slippage” - when the level of local government oversight and management of the resource significantly declines, leaving the resource vulnerable to expanded access by competing users and uses. Overuse or unrestrained competition in the use of these resources can quickly lead to congestion, rivalry and resource degradation. Tales abound in cities across the country of streets, parks, and vacant land that were once thriving urban spaces but have become overrun, dirty, prone to criminal activity, and virtually abandoned by most users. Proposed solutions to the rivalry, congestion and degradation that afflict common urban resources typically track the traditional public-private dichotomy of governance approaches. These solutions propose either a more assertive central government role or privatization of the resource. Neither of these proposed solutions has taken root, I argue, because of the potential costs that each carry - costs to the local government during times of fiscal strain, costs to communities where the majority of residents are non-property owners, and costs to internal community governance. What has taken root, however, are various forms of cooperative management regimes by groups of users. Despite the robust literature on self-organized management of natural resources, scholars have largely ignored collective action in the urban context. In fact, many urban scholars have assumed that collective action is unlikely in urban communities where social disorder exists. This Article highlights the ways in which common urban resources are being managed by groups of users in the absence of government coercion or management and without transferring ownership into private hands. This collective action occurs in the shadow of continued state and local government ownership and oversight of the resources. Formally, although the state continues to hold the regulatory reigns, in practice we see the public role shifting away from a centralized governmental role to what I call an “enabling” one in which state and local government provides incentives and lend support to private actors who are able to overcome free-riding and coordination problems to manage collective resources. This Article develops this enabling role, marks its contours and limits, and raises three normative concerns that have gone unattended by policymakers.
The satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, as defined in Self-Determination Theory, has been identified as an important predictor of individuals' optimal functioning in various life domains. The study of work-related need satisfaction seems, however, hampered by the lack of a validated measure. To assist future research, the present study aimed to develop and validate a Work-related Basic Need Satisfaction scale (W-BNS). Using four Dutch-speaking samples, evidence was found for the three-factor structure of the scale, the discriminant validity, and the reliability of the three need satisfaction subscales as well as their criterion-related and predictive validity. The W-BNS may therefore be considered as a promising tool for future research and practice.
In recent years, social innovation has experienced a steep career. Numerous national governments and large organisations like the OECD, the European Commission and UNESCO have adopted the term. Social innovation basically means that people adopt new social practices in order to meet social needs in a different or more effective way. Prominent examples of the past are the Red Cross and the social welfare state or, at present, the internet 2.0 transforming our communication and cooperation schemes, requiring new management concepts, even empowering social revolutions. The traditional concept of innovation as successful new technological products needs fundamental rethinking in a society marked by knowledge and services, leading to a new and enriched paradigm of innovation. There is multiple evidence that social innovation will become of growing importance not only concerning social integration, equal opportunities and dealing with the greenhouse effects but also with regard to preserving and expanding the innovative capacity of companies and societies. While political authorities stress the social facets of social innovation, this book also encompasses its societal and systemic dimensions, collecting the scientific expertise of renowned experts and scholars from all over the world. Based on the contributions of the first world-wide science convention on social innovation from September 2011 in Vienna, the book provides an overview of scientific approaches to this still relatively new field. Forewords by Agnès HUBERT (Member of the Bureau of European Policy Advisers (BEPA) of the European Commission) and Antonella Noya (Senior Policy Analyst at OECD, manager of the OECD LEED Forum on Social Innovations).
The introduction to the book provides information about the coordinates and intentions of the Challenge Social Innovation Conference that took place in September 2011 in Vienna. This conference was the principal background and framework of the book presented here. The introduction highlights the focal points of the authors invited to contribute to this book.
In light of the increasing importance of social innovation, this paper explores the question of what (new) roles social sciences can play in analyzing and shaping social innovation. The paper starts with an overview of the current situation and the perspectives of socio-scientific innovation research that have greatly contributed to the development and spread of an enlightened socio-scientific understanding of innovation. Against the backdrop of clear paradoxes and confusion in prevailing politics of innovation, the contours of a new innovation paradigm are becoming visible and causing social innovation to grow in importance. Consistently, the social sciences will be challenged to redefine their functions with regard to innovation. In the past, innovation research in the context of social sciences has contributed heavily to explain the social dimensions, the complexity and paradoxa of innovation processes. Henceforth, much will depend on realigning the range of competencies of social science and social scientists by contributing actively to the development and integration of innovations as well as by developing social innovation.
This case study of Slow Food at the University of Wisconsin—Madison (SFUW) examines the success of a volunteer social innovation that promotes sustainable food access. Using inductive thematic analysis of 19 in-depth, semi-structured interviews of past and current members, advisors, and collaborators, we find that the success of SFUW is consistent with Self-Determination Theory. We find that among the participants, the organization satisfies the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, which in turn support intrinsic motivation. In this way, volunteering tasks become interesting, fun, and are more likely to be performed over time. The findings suggest that needs fulfillment and intrinsic motivation are linked to creating a self-propagating social innovation where volunteers generate new ideas and successfully transfer skills to others. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Analyzes questions that arose from the 2008 financial crisis while assessing the predictions of John Maynard Keynes, sharing the authors' views of a positive life and how recent generations have traded morality for wealth.
Living with people who differ—racially, ethnically, religiously, or economically—is the most urgent challenge facing civil society today. We tend socially to avoid engaging with people unlike ourselves, and modern politics encourages the politics of the tribe rather than of the city. In this thought-provoking book, Richard Sennett discusses why this has happened and what might be done about it.
Sennett contends that cooperation is a craft, and the foundations for skillful cooperation lie in learning to listen well and discuss rather than debate. In Together he explores how people can cooperate online, on street corners, in schools, at work, and in local politics. He traces the evolution of cooperative rituals from medieval times to today, and in situations as diverse as slave communities, socialist groups in Paris, and workers on Wall Street. Divided into three parts, the book addresses the nature of cooperation, why it has become weak, and how it could be strengthened. The author warns that we must learn the craft of cooperation if we are to make our complex society prosper, yet he reassures us that we can do this, for the capacity for cooperation is embedded in human nature.
Over the last three decades in Australia and Britain, there has been a transformation in the character of the post-Second World War welfare state away from shared responsibility for managing social risks through collective pooling mechanisms towards more individualised responsibility for managing lifecourse risks such as unemployment, parenthood and disability. In liberal welfare states like Australia and Britain, one result has been a range of activation or ‘workfare’ policies. While there has been much discussion about the reasons for these policies and the outcomes for citizens, there is very little exploration of the process by which risks have been individualised through government activation policies. The principle of individual responsibility is politically difficult to sell to citizens and yet how it has been packaged in policy terms has been neglected in the literature. This paper aims to explore the political rationale for the individualisation of risk in the process of contemporary welfare reform by examining government policy documents in Australia and Britain over the last 30 years – the period in which contemporary welfare reform and its emphasis on activation policies emerged. In both countries, I will argue that it is ideas about contractual reciprocity that have been mobilised to legitimise the principle that individuals should manage the risks associated with the lifecourse.
Grassroots innovations emerge as networks generating innovative solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation. However, it is unclear if grassroots innovations can be successful in responding to climate change. Little evidence exists on replication, international comparisons are rare, and research tends to overlook discontinued responses in favour of successful ones. We take the Transition Movement as a case study of a rapidly spreading transnational grassroots network, and include both active and non-active local transition initiatives. We investigate the replication of grassroots innovations in different contexts with the aim to uncover general patterns of success and failure, and identify questions for future research. An online survey was carried out in 23 countries (N = 276). The data analysis entailed testing the effect of internal and contextual factors of success as drawn from the existing literature, and the identification of clusters of transition initiatives with similar internal and contextual factor configurations. Most transition initiatives consider themselves successful. Success is defined along the lines of social connectivity and empowerment, and external environmental impact. We find that less successful transition initiatives might underestimate the importance of contextual factors and material resources in influencing success. We also find that their diffusion is linked to the combination of local–global learning processes, and that there is an incubation period during which a transition initiative is consolidated. Transition initiatives seem capable of generalising organisational principles derived from unique local experiences that seem to be effective in other local contexts. However, the geographical locations matter with regard to where transition initiatives take root and the extent of their success, and ‘place attachment’ may have a role in the diffusion of successful initiatives. We suggest that longitudinal comparative studies can advance our understanding in this regard, as well as inform the changing nature of the definition of success at different stages of grassroots innovation development, and the dynamic nature of local and global linkages.
Is more economic growth the solution? Will it deliver prosperity and well-being for a global population projected to reach nine billion? In this explosive book, Tim Jackson a top sustainability adviser to the UK government makes a compelling case against continued economic growth in developed nations. No one denies that development is essential for poorer nations. But in the advanced economies there is mounting evidence that ever-increasing consumption adds little to human happiness and may even impede it. More urgently, it is now clear that the ecosystems that sustain our economies are collapsing under the impacts of rising consumption. Unless we can radically lower the environmental impact of economic activity and there is no evidence to suggest that we can we will have to devise a path to prosperity that does not rely on continued growth. Economic heresy? Or an opportunity to improve the sources of well-being, creativity and lasting prosperity that lie outside the realm of the market? Tim Jackson provides a credible vision of how human society can flourish within the ecological limits of a finite planet. Fulfilling this vision is simply the most urgent task of our times. This book is a substantially revised and updated version of Jackson's controversial study for the Sustainable Development Commission, an advisory body to the UK Government. The study rapidly became the most downloaded report in the Commission's nine year history when it was launched earlier this year. In 2017, PWG was published in a second, substantially revised and re-written edition that updates the arguments and considerably expands upon them. https://www.cusp.ac.uk/pwg/
The governance of natural resources used by many individuals in common is an issue of increasing concern to policy analysts. Both state control and privatization of resources have been advocated, but neither the state nor the market have been uniformly successful in solving common pool resource problems. After critiquing the foundations of policy analysis as applied to natural resources, Elinor Ostrom here provides a unique body of empirical data to explore conditions under which common pool resource problems have been satisfactorily or unsatisfactorily solved. Dr Ostrom uses institutional analysis to explore different ways - both successful and unsuccessful - of governing the commons. In contrast to the proposition of the 'tragedy of the commons' argument, common pool problems sometimes are solved by voluntary organizations rather than by a coercive state. Among the cases considered are communal tenure in meadows and forests, irrigation communities and other water rights, and fisheries.
Self-determination theory (SDT) differentiates motivation, with autonomous and controlled motivations constituting the key, broad distinction. Research has shown that autonomous motivation predicts persistence and adherence and is advantageous for effective performance, especially on complex or heuristic tasks that involve deep information processing or creativity. Autonomous motivation is also reliably related to psychological health. Considerable research has found interpersonal contexts that facilitate satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness to enhance autonomous motivation, which comprises intrinsic motivation and well-internalized extrinsic motivation. SDT has been applied in varied cultures and in many life domains, and research is reviewed that has related autonomous and controlled motivation to education, parenting, work, health care, sport, and close relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
COMMONS-BASED peer production is a socio-economic system of production that is emerging in the digitally networked environment. Facilitated by the technical infrastructure of the Internet, the hallmark of this socio-technical system is collaboration among large groups of individuals, sometimes in the order of tens or even hundreds of thousands, who cooperate effectively to provide information, knowledge or cultural goods without relying on either market pricing or managerial hierarchies to coordinate their common enterprise. While there are many practical reasons to try to understand a novel system of production that has produced some of the finest software, the fastest supercomputer and some of the best web-based directories and news sites, here we focus on the ethical, rather than the functional dimension. What does it mean in ethical terms that many individuals can find themselves cooperating productively with strangers and acquaintances on a scope never before seen? How might it affect, or at least enable, human action and affection, and how would these effects or possibilities affect our capacities to be virtuous human beings? We suggest that the emergence of peer production offers an opportunity for more people to engage in practices that permit them to exhibit and experience virtuous behavior. We posit: (a) that a society that provides opportunities for virtuous behavior is one that is more conducive to virtuous individuals; and (b) that the practice of effective virtuous behavior may lead to more people adopting virtues as their own, or as attributes of what they see as their self-definition. The central thesis of this paper is that socio-technical systems of commons-based peer production offer not only a remarkable medium of production for various kinds of information goods but serve as a context for positive character formation. Exploring and substantiating these claims will be our quest, but we begin with a brief tour through this strange and exciting new landscape of commons-based peer production and conclude with recommendations for public policy.
Many problems of inequality in developing countries resist treatment by formal egalitarian policies. To deal with these problems, we must shift from a distributive to a relational conception of equality, founded on opposition to social hierarchy. Yet the production of many goods requires the coordination of wills by means of commands. In these cases, egalitarians must seek to tame rather than abolish hierarchy. I argue that bureaucracy offers important constraints on command hierarchies that help promote the equality of workers in bureaucratic organizations. Bureaucracy thus constitutes a vital if limited egalitarian tool applicable to developing and developed countries alike.
How can we best understand the impact of revolutionary technologies on the business cycle, the economy, and society? Why is economics meaningless without history and without an understanding of institutional and technical change? Does the 'new economy' mean the 'end of history'?an we best understand the impact of revolutionary technologies on business organization and the business cycle? These are some of the questions addressed in this authoritative analysis of modern economic growth from the Industrial Revolution to the 'New Economy' of today. Chris Freeman has been one of the foremost researchers on innovation for a long time and his colleague Francisco Louca is an outstanding historian of economic theory and an analyst of econometric models and methods. Together they chart the history of five technological revolutions: water-powered mechanization, steam-powered mechanization, electrification, motorization, and computerization. They demonstrate the necessity to take account of politics, culture, organizational change, and entrepreneurship, as well as science and technology in the analysis of economic growth. This is an well-informed, highly topical, and persuasive study of interest across all the social sciences. Available in OSO: http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/oso/public/content/economicsfinance/0199251053/toc.html
This chapter discusses both the positive psychology movement (PPM) and self-determination theory (SDT), arguing that SDT is
a prototypical example of a positive psychology theory. SDT provides a nuanced, integrated, and scientifically supported framework
for understanding optimal functioning, while also addressing “negative” processes that can get in the way of optimal functioning.
Two primary prescriptions for positive psychology researchers are derivable from SD: that the autonomy-supportiveness of providers
will be crucial for the success of any positive intervention or context, and that the success of positive interventions or
contexts can be gauged by how well they meet participants’ needs. Accusations that positive psychology is overly individualist
are considered from the lens of SDT, which has already faced and answered such challenges. We suggest that the PPM might adopt
SDT as a general framework within which to conduct many types of positive psychology research.
Karl Polanyi's 1944 book, The Great Transformation, has been recognized as central for the field of economic sociology, but it has not been subject to the same theoretical scrutiny as other classic works in the field. This is a particular problem in that there are central tensions and complexities in Polanyi's argument. This article suggests that these tensions can be understood as a consequence of Polanyi's changing theoretical orientation. The basic outline of the book was developed in England in the late 1930s when Polanyi was working within a specific type of Marxist framework. However, as he was writing the book, he developed several new concepts, including fictitious commodities and the embedded economy, that led in new directions. Because circumstances did not give him the time to revise his manuscript, the book is marked by a tension between these different moments in his own theoretical development. The result is that Polanyi glimpses the concept of the always embedded market economy, but he does not name it or elaborate it.
Sustainable development is prompting a re-assessment of innovation and technological change. This review paper contributes three things towards this re-assessment activity. First, it considers how the history of innovation studies for sustainable development can be explained as a process of linking broader analytical frameworks to successively larger problem framings. Second it introduces an emerging framework whose allure rests in its ability to capture the bigger picture: the multi-level perspective on socio-technical transitions (MLP). Whilst burgeoning researcher networks and literature suggests this policy-relevant theory is attractive, it is not without its challenges. The third purpose of this paper is to elaborate these challenges as areas for further research and development. We do this by drawing upon contributions to this special section and the wider literature.