Sustainable Development: Social Innovation at the Interface of Business, Society and Ecology

Abstract

Social innovation has attracted much recent attention from academics, policy makers and practitioners during the past 10 years, although examples of social innovation can be traced far back to the early nineteenth century, see for example the pioneering reformer Robert Owen at the New Lanark Woolen Mill (Owen http://www.robert-owen.com/, 2012). The main argument about social innovation is that it has the potential to effect change in conventional sectors of the economy and society. These sectors include government and the public sector, not-for-profits, as well as the for-profit sector. Social innovation can also include more loosely organized actors within a community or engaged in a community venture. At the same time, by its very nature, social innovation does not conform to the neat boxes of sectors instead it often intersects and overlaps sectors. This chapter focuses on the link between sustainable development and social innovation. It takes the position that the call for sustainable development is the greatest challenge to humanity of our time.