Special Issue Call for Papers

Social Innovation and Sustainable Development

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Guest Editors

Shinyi Carol Lin, College of Management, National Taichung University of Education
Chou-kang Chiu, Graduate Institute of Labor Research, National Chengchi University

Important Dates

Submission Deadline: October 30, 2024
Planned Publication: Between 2024 and 2025

Call for Papers

The United Nations launched the "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" in 2015, establishing sustainable transformation as a shared global goal. This agenda focuses on various aspects, including environmental, social, and governance dimensions, and calls for governments, industries, and academia to collaborate on innovative development, aiming to enhance well-being. However, navigating sustainable operations in the context of VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) and the sustainability wave requires organizations to simultaneously consider market performance and social responsibility. Achieving sustainable transformation involves complex and multifaceted issues related to industry environments, economics, and society, presenting numerous challenges for organizational leaders. In the context of pursuing sustainable operations, promoting social innovation has gained recognition. It emphasizes the adoption of innovative business models, organizational structures, technological applications, or civic engagement rooted in well-being. This approach simultaneously addresses sustainable practices, such as resource management, social equity, and environmental protection, ultimately realizing a more inclusive and sustainable socio-economic ecosystem.

Social innovation activities are closely linked to the effectiveness of sustainable development, and their interaction leads to various innovative practices and actions, requiring further interpretation through academic research. "Corporate Management Review," published by National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, is dedicated to promoting academic empirical exchanges on emerging topics in business management in workplace and organizational contexts. With this in mind, this special issue invites contributions on the theme of "Social Innovation and Sustainable Development" to facilitate in-depth discussions among various stakeholders. The goal is to collectively explore research on how social innovation can promote sustainable development and seek innovative strategies to address the challenges of sustainable development.

Topics of interest in this special issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Social innovation and sustainable business models

With the evolving landscape in society and business environment, the concepts of social innovation and sustainable business models have gradually gained attention. Social innovation refers to strategies and methods for creating new social relationships or value structures aimed at meeting social needs. It enhances society's ability to act collectively and leverages the strength of communities and organizations to address persistent societal issues (Murray et al., 2010; Van der Have & Rubalcaba, 2016). On the other hand, sustainable business models are increasingly critical in which it enables businesses to maintain value creation while minimizing the use of natural and economic resources (Bocken et al., 2014). Facing increasingly severe social and environmental issues, both concepts call for businesses to reflect on their existing market strategies and seek a transition from traditional linear model prioritizing economic interests, to a new one that emphasizes value co-creation and circular sharing.

Transiting to social-focused and sustainable business models involves significant challenges. When pursuing sustainable models, companies need to change their internal management structures, operational processes, and corporate culture so as to balance economic benefits, social responsibility, and environmental protection. Additionally, the support of policymakers and regulatory bodies, the awareness and demand of consumers and the broader society for new social and sustainable values, and the driving forces of technological innovation and capital markets are all key factors affecting the success of this transformation (Avelino et al., 2019; Evans et al., 2017; Todeschini et al., 2017). However, despite the challenges, we have seen that businesses and organizations are trying to explore social innovation and sustainable business models, which will enable them to secure a new competitiveness in the sustainable paradigm of the future. This special issue aims to promote academic and practical industry discussions on social innovation and sustainable business models, such as strategies and barriers in developing innovative business models, so as to deepen our theoretical understanding and expand practical insights.

2. Social enterprises and entrepreneurial spirit

Social enterprises and entrepreneurial spirit are key drivers of innovation and sustainable development in contemporary society. Social enterprises are distinctive organizations that combine awareness of societal issues with the recognition of market opportunities, thereby addressing social and environmental challenges through innovative solutions. The entrepreneurial spirit is characterized by an individual's or organization's proclivity for seeking novel opportunities, embracing risks, and pioneering change (Avelino et al., 2019; Defourny & Nyssens, 2010).

Compared to traditional businesses, social enterprises prioritize the creation of social value by leveraging digital technologies or innovative business models to address societal issues such as poverty alleviation, educational disparities, public health emergencies, and environmental degradation. Despite of the mission of addressing social problems, social enterprises face significant challenges in practices since they are rather inefficient in capturing economic benefit that is critical for sustaining their operations and scaling their impact. Furthermore, prioritizing social impacts often impedes social enterprises from securing investments, as financial institutions typically assess prospects based on economic viability. It has been argued that social enterprises face challenges in balancing the pursue of social missions and business expansion (Bloom & Chatterji, 2009; Bugg-Levine et al., 2012; Davies et al., 2019).

The successful development of social enterprises relies on the entrepreneurial spirits, which necessitate the ability to recognize social problems and market opportunities while effectively integrating organizational resources to achieve both social value and economic benefits (Chell, 2007; Todeschini et al., 2017). Given that social enterprise and the associated entrepreneurial spirit have gained increasing attention of global, this topic calls for more efforts to explore the strategies, business models, organizational forms, and entrepreneurial spirit of social enterprises, that facilitate generation of significant social values and maintenance of sustained market competitiveness.

3. Corporate social responsibility practices and impact

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to a business's responsibility to demonstrate its positive impacts on society and the environment. Along the evolving development of CSR practices, studies have explored the strategies, benefits and impacts that bring to our environment and society (Lindgreen & Swaen, 2010).

CSR practices include a range of activities from environmental conservation, fair trade, and labor rights protection to community engagement and development. These practices not only help in building a good public image and enhancing brand value, but also increasing consumer loyalty and investor trust, which further enable business to gaining competitiveness in the market (Arendt & Brettel, 2010). Moreover, a well-designed CSR strategy is seen as a key factor in attracting and retaining talent, as employees tend to work in highly responsible and ethical companies (Kim et al., 2010). However, implementing CSR involves challenges, in which businesses need to overcome difficulties related to resource allocation, balance stakeholders' expectations, and ensure the effectiveness and continuity of their activities. Additionally, with the changing global economic and social landscape, businesses face continually evolving social responsibility demands, and that would need a constant adjustment of their CSR practices (Islam et al., 2021; Smith, 2003). In this regard, CSR has become an integral part of corporate strategy and is closely linked to the long-term success and sustainability of businesses.

With the rising expectations received by the business to address sustainable issues in contemporary society, this topic call for explorations of opportunities and challenges received by businesses when engaging in CSR practices, and also the delivered benefits to business and society.

4. B Corporations and business impact

B Corporations, while pursuing profitability, place greater emphasis on their responsibility towards society and the environment. The concept of B Corporations has primarily developed from the recent societal expectations of businesses to actively address social and environmental issues. The development of B Corporations can be seen as a challenge to traditional business models and an enabler driving form more business explorations and practices of inclusive and sustainable economic development (Villela et al., 2021).

To become a B Corporation, companies must receive third-party certification from the non-profit organization, 'B Lab', and pass the 'B Impact Assessment' (BIA) which include five evaluation dimensions: Environment, Customers, Workers, Community, and Governance. A business who successfully certified as a B Corporation signals its commitments to engage in developing high level of social/environmental performance, accountability and transparency. While passing the certification involves high commitment, the number of B Corporations continues to grow globally at different scales and in different industries in which they are attempting to transform the industries toward more inclusive and sustainable through new production, services and business models.

Obtaining B Corporation certification helps businesses to access market differentiation (Kim & Schifeling, 2022), however, challenges are involved along with their development. In addition to the complex issues in the certification process, businesses face challenges in achieving balance between social-environmental goals and economic benefits, as well as integrating the mindset of sustainability into their strategies and cultures (Kim & Schifeling, 2022; Kirst et al., 2021). This topic seeks discussion about how B Corporations can promote positive changes in society and the environment through innovative strategies while maintaining their competitiveness in the market.

5. Inclusive innovation and green innovation

Innovation is a key force in driving social and economic development by addressing various societal issues. In recent years, the concepts of inclusive innovation and green innovation have gained increasing attention because of the witnessed widening gap between rich and poor and escalating environmental pollution. Actually, lots of international organizations, national governments, and non-profit organizations begun to develop inclusive innovation, exploring how innovation can alleviate the growing social inequality by providing affordable solutions to socio-economically marginalized groups (Kim & Schifeling, 2022; Senyo & Osabutey, 2020). On the other hand, the discussion about green innovation is committed to developing low-carbon, environmentally friendly technologies and products which contribute environmental protection and resource efficiency, so that the world is able to achieve both economic and sustainability goals.

It has been witnessed that many inclusive and green innovations emerged in recent years. For example, microloans aimed at providing the poor with access to small and collateral-free loans for starting business, which have risen in India and China, haven been widely discussed in inclusive innovation research (Zogning, 2023). As for green innovation, the literature has discussed topics such as circular economy, renewable energy and carbon tax mechanisms; the focus of these discussion is how to transit the existing production models based on high-pollution solutions, toward greener and more sustainable ones through changes of technology, organization and institution (Singh et al., 2020; Yu et al., 2021).

When pursuing inclusive and green innovation, businesses or governments need to consider not only costs but also technical feasibility, market acceptance, and the impact of relevant policies and regulations, in which the process requires cross-sector collaboration, multiple stakeholder participation and long-term commitment. This special issue seeks to inspire discussions theoretically and practically in terms of technological change, organizational forms, policy mechanisms, etc.

6. Social advancement and sustainable education

This topic focuses on the role of education in facilitating social advancement and sustainable development. In a globalized and rapidly changing world, education serves not only as the foundation for personal knowledge development, but also as a crucial mechanism for promoting social justice, economic prosperity, and environmental protection. Through education, we can cultivate citizens to be equipped with critical thinking, innovative capabilities, and a sense of social responsibility, so as to empower them to address the current and future social challenges and contribute to a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable society.

Sustainable education should integrate all stages and aspects of learning, from early childhood education to lifelong learning, and cover a comprehensive development of knowledge, skills, and values. It emphasizes interdisciplinary and cross-cultural learning, encouraging learners to understand current societal issues and actively participate in solving local and global challenges (Burbules et al., 2020; Kopnina, 2020; Žalėnienė & Pereira, 2021). To this end, educational institutions need innovative teaching methods and systems to provide learners with the interdisciplinary knowledge required to address current societal issues, and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to receive high-quality education (Chankseliani & McCowan, 2021).

The education system faces many challenges because of the changing social landscape, which include, for example, how to cultivate learners with skills adaptable to the future job market, how to improve the equity of education, and how to integrate sustainable development goals into educational policies and practices. This topic calls for theoretical and empirical researches on how the education system can address current societal challenges and become a force for promoting social change and sustainable development.

7. Local revitalization and regional development

As globalization and urbanization progress, many local communities are facing challenges such as population outflow, economic decline, and the gradual disappearance of cultural heritage. This has made local revitalization and regional development a focal point of attention for governments and academics in recent years (Shen & Chou, 2022). The implementation of local revitalization could be driven by top-down policy or bottom-up community participation. Local governments can promote regional industry diversification, entrepreneurship and innovation, education and skill training, and infrastructure development through a series of policy tools. At the same time, community involvement and collective action of the residents ensure that revitalization projects truly meet local needs and achieve effective coordination and integration of resources (Castro-Arce & Vanclay, 2020; Rao, 2022).

Successful local revitalization brings new energy to declining areas and encourage knowledge and resource mobilization across regions, in which the widening gap between urban and rural areas is expected to be address during the revitalization process (Pisani & Micheletti, 2020). Whereas aim of local revitalization and regional development is to promote balanced and inclusive development between different regions, this topic calls for theoretical and empirical research exploring the strategies, challenges, and future prospects of local revitalization and regional development, with aims to provide interesting insights regarding the sustainable growth in regions.

8. Technological innovation and sustainability assessment

Technological innovation plays an important role in addressing sustainability issues. This topic aims to explore how technological innovation supports sustainable development and also the assessments of the impact of technological innovation activities on the economy, society, and the environment. Facing the increasingly serious environmental issues in recent years, not only the technological advancements in green energy and circular economy areas have been witnessed, but also the development of smart city, smart medical and digital education driven by digital technologies are getting attention. These innovations are developed with ambition to address sustainable development goals, such as low-carbon transition, resource efficiency and reduction of digital divide. However, as these innovations become more integrated into everyday life, their potential impacts should be also carefully and comprehensively assessed

Accordingly, this topic focuses only on understanding the role of technological innovation in driving sustainable, but also exploring the sustainability assessments of technological innovation through frameworks such as technology lifecycle, cost-benefit analysis, efficiency analysis and social impact assessment, which are critical for ensuring that the technological progress remains aligned with the sustainable development goals of our society.

Sumission Guidelines and Deadlines

The deadline for submissions to this Special Issue is 30 October 2024. Submissions should adhere to the formatting and standard requirements of the Corporate Management Review. Authors should ensure they adhere to the journal author guidelines which are available at https://ibm.nycu.edu.tw/ibm/cmr/Submission.htm. Submissions are to be sent via email to editor2guest@gmail.com. The submission fee is in accordance with the Corporate Management Review's standard rates. More information on the special issue or the workshop can be obtained from the guest editors:

Shinyi Carol Lin at slin@gm.ntcu.edu.tw
Chou-kang Chiu at ckchiu@nccu.edu.tw

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