Innovation in Socio-Cultural Context

Innovation - the process of obtaining, understanding, applying, transforming, managing and transferring knowledge - is a result of human collaboration, but it has become an increasingly complex process, with a growing number of interacting parties involved. Lack of innovation is not necessarily caused by lack of technology or lack of will to innovate, but often by social and cultural forces that jeopardize the cognitive processes and prevent potential innovation. This book focuses on the rule of social capital in the process of innovation: the social networks and the norms; values and attitudes (such as trust) of the actors; social capital as both bonding and bridging links between actors; and social capital as a feature at all spatial levels, from the single inventor to the transnational corporation. Contributors from a wide variety of countries and disciplines explore the cultural framework of innovation through empirics, case studies and examination of conceptual and methodological dilemmas.

Frane Adam is Head of the Research Centre at the Institute for Developmental and Strategic Analyses (IRSA), Ljubljana, Slovenia; Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; and Professor at the School of Advanced Social Studies, Nova Gorica, Slovenia. Hans Westlund is Professor at KTH (Royal Institute of Technology), Stockholm, Sweden; JIBS (Jönköping International Business School), Jönköping, Sweden; and IRSA (Institute for Developmental and Strategic Analyses), Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Introduction The Meaning and Importance of Socio-Cultural Context for Innovation Performance Frane Adam and Hans Westlund Part I: The Cultural and Cognitive Framework of Innovation 1. Culture and Cognition: The Foundations of Innovation in Modern Societies Marian Adolf, Jason Mast and Nico Stehr 2. Socially Responsible Science and Innovation in Converging Technologies Toni Pustovrh 3. Culture Impact on Innovation: Econometric Analysis of European Countries Pedro Ferreira, Elvira Vieira and Isabel Neira 4. Communities as Spaces of Innovation Joanne Roberts Part II: Innovation and Social Capital: A Reconsideration of Conceptual and Methodological Dilemmas 5. National and Regional Innovation Capacity Through the Lens of Social Capital: A Qualitative Meta-Analysis of Recent Empirical Studies Frane Adam 6. Collaboration in Innovation Systems and the Significance of Social Capital Hans Westlund and Yuheng Li 7. Learning in Regional Networks: The Role of Social Capital Roel Rutten and Dessy Irawati Part III: Case Studies 8. Independent Inventors and Their Position in the National/ Regional Innovation System: A Case Study of Slovenia Angela Ivancic, Darka Podmenik, Alja Adam and Ana Hafner 9. "Individuals" Networks and Regional Renewal: A Case Study of Social Dynamics and Innovation in Twente Paul Benneworth and Roel Rutten Discussion and Conclusion Instead of a Conclusion: Society, Culture and Innovation: Themes for Future Studies Frane Adam and Hans Westlund