Responsibility Contested: Tensions and Dynamics in Responsible Innovation

Éditeurs invités

• Claudia Buengeler, Kiel University
• Stefan Hoffmann, Kiel University
• Kristina Nickel, Kiel University
• Carsten Schultz, Kiel University
• Achim Walter, Kiel University

Synthèse

Responsible innovation seeks to align innovation with ethical considerations, societal values, and needs of current and future generations. However, it operates within significant tensions between innovation and regulation, economic incentives and ethical commitments, and short-term efficiency and long-term responsibility. These tensions have led to observable backlash across sectors, with organizations scaling back responsible innovation initiatives in response to political and societal shifts, seeking to restore previous operational states rather than simply resist change.

This special issue explores why responsible innovation provokes opposition, resistance, and counter-mobilization across individual, organizational, and societal levels. The issue recognizes that backlash need not be entirely detrimental—it may serve as corrective feedback revealing deeper tensions and pointing toward more integrative approaches. The call invites empirical research from multiple disciplines examining the catalysts, consequences, and contingencies of tensions in responsible innovation, including how organizations can develop strategies for strategic resilience and lasting social legitimacy.

Thèmes proposés

• Conceptualizing backlash across disciplines and its differentiation from resistance to change or non-adoption
• Forms of backlash in organizational settings and links to specific innovation types (digital, environmental, social)
• Individual, social, cultural, organizational, and economic factors driving responses to responsible innovation
• Moral and ethical judgments, social responsibility in business, and cross-cultural perspectives on responsible innovation
• Cognitive dissonance, perceived moralization, fear of economic loss, and political values shaping backlash responses
• Firm strategy, leadership communication, incentive schemes, organizational structure, and stakeholder engagement influencing backlash momentum
• Manifestations of backlash in innovation management processes, decision criteria, and innovation management instruments
• Consequences of backlash for innovation adoption, legitimacy, organizational learning, and reputational positioning at multiple levels
• Strategies for preventing delegitimization including legitimacy building, meaning creation, coalition management, and political activity
• Proactive narrative reshaping through framing, trust building, and resilience strategies to address negative backlash
• Anticipating and constructively working with tensions and dynamics of responsible innovation