Change agency in social innovation

An Analysis of Activities in Social Innovation Processes

Datos Bibliográficos

ID7366632
AutoresSamuel Wirth (autor de correspondencia), Pascal Tschumi, Heike Mayer (0000-0001-9419-0770), Monika Bandi Tanner (0000-0002-0443-3255)
Año2023
Volumen10
Número1
Páginas33-51
Fecha de publicación2023-01-19
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaRegional Studies Regional Science (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2168-1376 • E-ISSN: 2168-1376
EditorialTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/21681376.2022.2157324
OpenAlexW4317433673
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas53

We examine the role of change agency in social innovations. Agency in social innovations can create new resources and capacities for transformative change in a region. To date, there is a lack of empirical studies investigating how agency manifests itself in social innovations. In particular, research has not yet investigated the detailed activities of social innovation actors throughout the phases of social innovation processes. In this paper we apply the concept of trinity of change agency to investigate the activities of social innovation actors. Using innovation biographies and data from 61 interviews for 11 case studies of social innovation in a peripheral mountain region in Switzerland, we analyse the social innovation process from an actor-oriented perspective. Our findings show that the various types of change agency are highly present in social innovations. The significance of change agency alters throughout the innovation process. Our analysis shows that all kinds of actors performed change agency during the social innovation process. Interestingly, same actors performed different types of change agency during the social innovation process. The findings suggest that change agency is as a significant element in social innovations and that we need to consider it as a transformative element of social innovation processes. When policymakers take change agency into account in creating an environment in which social innovations can flourish, there is a great chance that social innovations can contribute to changing regional development paths and perhaps even to regional transformation

Agency (philosophy · Business · Economic growth · Economics · Political science · Process (computing · Public relations · Social change · Social innovation · Social science · Sociology · Transformative learning · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences · Rural development and sustainability