The Impact of Dissonance? A Valuation Perspective on Rural Social Innovation Processes

Jonathan Hussels (), Ralph Richter and Suntje Schmidt
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Jonathan Hussels: Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space, 15537 Erkner, Germany
Ralph Richter: Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space, 15537 Erkner, Germany
Suntje Schmidt: Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space, 15537 Erkner, Germany

Societies, 2024, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-18

Abstract: Social innovation (SI) has been credited with fostering novel solutions to the socio-economic challenges many rural areas face. The quest for a substantiated understanding of its potential for regional development has spawned a rich literature on SI impact assessments. Yet, having been instrumental, these assessments harbour several ambiguities as they seek to unveil objective impacts in a results-oriented manner. First, SI processes take diverse directionalities, questioning the idea of them being ‘straightforward facts’ and giving leeway to a more constructivist understanding. Second, a results-oriented perspective tends to obscure social processes that initially contribute to the emergence of impacts. In response to such concerns, we suggest a valuation perspective that explores how SI impacts are constructed iteratively throughout the innovation process. To do so, we operationalise the notion of dissonance as a critical factor embedded in innovative activities in three instances: impulses , turning points , and lock-ins . This perspective allows us to study how value is experienced, assigned, and strategically attracted while shedding light on how SI processes and their impacts are co-constructed in valuation processes. The article uses empirical vignettes from selected case studies with SI initiatives in Northern Germany.

Keywords: social innovation; impact; valuation; value; dissonance; rural areas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 A14 P P0 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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