Innovation and Social Innovation - Essay Example

In the contemporary world, innovation and social innovation have become matters of great importance especially considering that they have become the mainstay of the economy as well as various social programs. It has become essential for organizations to put these aspects into consideration when seeking to advance not only their interests, but also the interests of society as well. Therefore, these aspects of innovation have allowed for the development of a diverse number of theories as well as criticisms from scholars who either support or are against innovation and social innovation. This paper seeks to make a definition of innovation and social innovation and contrast these two aspects of the global economy in a bid to show the manner in which they affect their respective criteria.

One of the most important definitions of innovation is that it is a new idea that is put into practice or a more effective device or process, which is an improvement to the one that was used before. It is also the application of new requirements that are aimed at dealing with new challenges or catering forever-changing needs, which ensure that there is the development of products that are constantly needed in the market (Maryville, 1992). The satisfaction of consumer needs is one of the biggest motivators of innovation and this is especially the case considering that innovation involved the application or development of completely new ideas that end up having an impact on the rest of society. This process brings together a diversity of ideas that are meant to ensure that they are applied in a way that they end up making a positive impact through the development of new products. This is as well as the advancement of other ideas that end up having an impact on the continued improvement of these same products (Frankelius, 2009). It is, therefore, essential to ensure that innovation continuously takes place because it is only through this process that the possibility of satisfying consumer demand can be achieved. However, constant innovation is required because the changing nature of demand in the market, which has come to rely on trends, has led to a situation where organizations have to continuously purchase or develop new innovations in order to remain relevant in the market, which is highly competitive.

Social innovations, on the other hand, are those concepts or strategies that are put in place to ensure that they meet social needs at different levels ranging from the improvement of working conditions to matters concerning health and education. Social innovations are designed to make sure that there is the extension and strengthening of civil society in a way that brings about the advancement of societal interests (Roy, McHugh & O'Connor, 2014). Social innovation, therefore, concentrates on the development of those ideas, products, or techniques that are aimed at bringing about the achievement of specific social purposes and these include online volunteering and the provision of microcredit for those individuals who cannot afford the conditions that banks often set on their loans. One of the most significant examples of social innovators in the world today is Bangladeshi Muhammad Yunus, who, through Grameen Bank, which he founded, brought about the development of the idea of microcredit with the aim of supporting innovators in the developing world (Mail Foreign Service, 2012). Therefore, social innovations are conducted mainly for benefitting society and for the most part, their main aim is not in the achievement of profits. Social innovation also aims at promoting greater efficiency in such a way that brings about the improvement of services provided to society. The ability of organizations to come up with social innovations can be considered the means through which it cannot only promote its image, but is also a way that ensures that it effectively undertakes its social responsibility.

Innovation is a catalyst for growth, especially where business and economics are concerned. This is true considering that a significant number of innovations in the world today have come about as a result of the rapid advancement in transportation and communications infrastructure all over the world. These advancements have brought with the considerable needs among consumers, which would be difficult for the old business and economic model to cater for. Because of this difficulty, innovation has ended up becoming one of the major foundations of the global economy because it is through it that it becomes possible to develop those products that are in demand by consumers. Joseph Schumpeter promotes the idea that it is important for industries to ensure that they revolutionize from within through innovation where better processes and products are developed for distribution into the market (Phills, Deiglmeier & Miller, 2008). There is also a constant need to ensure that there is better quality, service and price of products, which can only be achieved through the encouragement and active investment in innovation so that the organization involved can be able to bring about the realization of advanced technologies and organizational strategies. Innovation, in this case, goes hand in hand with entrepreneurship and it promotes the constant development of new products that are aimed at gaining a niche in the highly competitive market that advances the interests of consumers. Moreover, while at the same time ensuring that the organization has the ability to bring about significant competition against its rivals; allowing for the best practices of capitalism to be applied.

Moreover, social innovation can be considered universally applicable especially considering that any party within society can launch it. Among those capable of launching social innovations are research institutions, and all types of business organizations, and all of these tend to have their own definition of social innovation and the extent to which they should participate in it. As a result, despite the relationship between them, social innovation is quite distinguishable from forms of social work and innovation. Instead, social innovation has as its focus the process of innovation, and how innovation can be used for bringing about a level of positive change in society (Roy, McHugh & O'Connor, 2014). This is opposed to the traditional definition of social innovation, which involves the giving of priority to the serving of productivity, by firms at an internal level. Thus, social innovation seeks to ensure that there is a focus on matters concerning new work and new forms of business models that are designed to ensure that there is a level of work aimed at bringing about a sustainable society (Klievink & Janssen, 2014). Social innovation makes it a priority for organizations to shift their focus from being entirely profitmaking enterprises to those that seek to ensure that they make active contributions to society through developing and implementing new ideas aimed at bringing about a level of social improvement. This, therefore, is a sign that social innovation seeks to bring about a situation where organizations make their social responsibilities one of their biggest priorities.

In contrast to social innovation, innovation takes place as a result of different circumstances. It can take place as a result of the efforts of individuals pooling their ideas, by chance, or as a result of the failure of the current system; hence the need to develop a new system capable of handling things that the old system could not. According to Drucker (2002), there are a diverse number of innovation sources, which include changes in industry structure, demographics within the market, as well as the advancement of current scientific knowledge. One of the most recognized aspects of innovation is manufacturer innovation where a business seeks to develop an innovation in order to sell it. This is a common occurrence in the contemporary business world especially considering that a significant number of start-ups tend to develop new technologies as well as innovative ideas. With this they end up selling to their larger competitors either because they want to move ahead to other projects, or they do not have the funding that they need to ensure that they are able to fully develop the innovation they have at hand. Another aspect of innovation that has come to be recognized in recent years is end-user innovation, which involves individuals or companies seeking to develop innovations for their own use rather than having it mass-produced for sale. This is often done in situations where the products already in the market do not suit the needs of the organization, hence the need to develop its own product to satisfy these needs.

Unlike innovation, social innovation has risen in prominence as a result of efforts of government to promote efficiency through integrating the private sector into service delivery. Governance in the past decade has begun a shift towards cooperation between the public and private sectors in a way that is aimed to promote the achievement of long-term social goals. One of the most significant aspects of social innovation is microfinance, whose major aim is to ensure that there is provision of support for those individuals who have lack of access to financial services such as banking and insurance (Roy, McHugh & O'Connor, 2014). This support brings about a situation where it is possible to ensure that the living conditions and financial viability of these individuals is improved. Furthermore, there is an insistence on business organizations to make sure that they maximize their financial and social returns in such a way that they seek to support social programs such as those that promote environmental sustainability and human rights. It is through the efforts of government in collaboration with the private sector, that it has become possible to ensure that the socially innovative idea of the welfare state has been so successful. This is especially the case considering that this collaboration has ensured that there is a safety net for those individuals in society who are unemployed. This is in order to reduce the dependency of these individuals on the economy to make ends meet and instead, there is a reduction in the pressure being put on it so that even in times when there is significant unemployment within the population, there is a high level of economic stability.

There are instances where there are failures in innovation and these take place either internally or externally. One of the most substantial reasons behind failure in innovation is where an organization does not have a stable cultural infrastructure to ensure that there is stability in its innovative ability. Additionally, there are instances where the poor management of the organization, especially in matters concerning goal definition, alignment of actions to goals, as well as communication and access to information, end up leading to failure in innovation initiatives (Khan, 1989). As a result of these internal problems, the organization involved ends up not being able to compete effectively with its rivals to such an extent that there is a risk of its lagging behind and eventually collapsing. In certain circumstances, it is essential to ensure the development of measures aimed at securing society against structural deficiencies within the economy that stifle innovation, and this is where social innovation comes in. Social innovation promotes the idea that the welfare system cannot continue to be managed with the aim of cost effectiveness alone. Instead, it is important that there is an attempt to bring about the development of tangible efforts aimed at ensuring social equality, especially when it comes to the support of government in maintaining the affordability of healthcare (Kleinert & Horton, 2013, p.1074). The latter attempt should be conducted through the creation of initiatives that seek to promote the eradication of deficiencies in the economic system that have the potential of causing serious harm to members of society.

The discussion above has sought to define innovation and social innovation and contrast these two aspects of the societal reality in order to show the way that they affect their respective criteria. The definition of innovation that has been used is that it is a new idea that is put into practice or a more effective device or process, which is an improvement to the one that was used before. A social innovation, on the other hand, is a strategy that is put in place to ensure that it meets social needs at different levels involving working conditions, education, and health, among others. Both innovation and social innovation have been found to have an impact on the manner in which business and society are connected, as exemplified through the ever-increasing cooperation between government and the private sector in service delivery.