Implementation of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) Practices in Industry: Providing the Right Incentives

Agata Gurzawska, Markus Mäkinen and Philip Brey
Additional contact information
Agata Gurzawska: Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
Markus Mäkinen: Value-Driven Decision Making, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd., Tekniikankatu 1, 33720 Tampere, Finland
Philip Brey: Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 10, 1-26

Abstract: Abstract : Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is a term used by policy-makers and academics to refer to research and innovation that is ethically acceptable and socially desirable. Despite the fact that the vast majority of research and innovation (R&I) is funded and produced by industry, companies tend to have no awareness or recognition of this concept. This is unfortunate, as the RRI paradigm could be mutually beneficial for both business and society: it could help businesses realise competitive opportunities while also leading to positive economic, societal and environmental impacts. This paper investigates how industry can be incentivised to engage in research and innovation following the approach of RRI. We propose a matrix of incentives for stimulating the adoption of RRI. We categorise incentives according to three dichotomies: external and internal, instrumental and non-instrumental, direct and indirect. The incentives are formalised in a causal loop diagram, which can be used to demonstrate the sound character of investing in RRI from a business perspective. We discuss examples of incentives, including corporate reputation and critical consumerism, certification, employee engagement, and governance. Lastly, to ensure effective implementation of RRI, we outline factors for the realisation of successful incentives for RRI in industry.

Keywords: responsible research and innovation; incentives; industry; corporate social responsibility; stakeholders (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (23)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/10/1759/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/10/1759/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:10:p:1759-:d:113507

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().