Malin Lindberg

Paradoxical spaces of feminist resistance: Mapping the margin to the masculinist innovation discourse

Purpose – Various studies indicate that men and certain masculinities are ascribed a normative role in innovation policies and innovation networks. This article aims to analyse which feminist approaches have been used in order to articulate and perform resistance to the hegemonic “masculinist” discourses on innovation, applying the concept of paradoxical space coined by Rose. The paper specifically focuses on Swedish gender and innovation research and development (R&D) projects, as Sweden has been depicted as progressive in the theoretical and practical development of this field. Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyses feminist approaches used in the “margin to the mainstream” of innovation R&D. The analysis is conducted on research and evaluation – where the authors have been involved as “outsiders within”. The empirical material is gathered through literature searches and interviews. Findings – The paper concludes that three approaches to feminist resistance, outlined by Rose, are used in the a...

Gender and innovation

Over the last two decades, innovation has become an increasingly common subject of political action and scientific studies in Europe and worldwide. This interest emanates from the widespread unders ...

Women, reindeer herding and the Internet: an innovative process in northern Sweden

This research note deals with an innovation initiative involving women, reindeer herding and the Internet. It shows how women reindeer herders from a Swedish Sámi village were a driving force in the development of several innovative, EU-funded projects focusing on information and communications technology. The article shows how the innovation initiative involved a wide range of actors, ascribing stakeholders from civil society important roles besides the public and private sectors. The innovation initiative involved several different strategies. One of these strategies was internationalization – both at the European and worldwide levels. This strategy was employed to prevent rigid political hierarchies blocking the prospects of gaining support from local and regional authorities. Another strategy was the continuous exchange of knowledge between engineers and potential end users, adapting the initiative results to the needs of the local context. As a result, the innovation initiative has produced several kinds of outcomes. It has generated new technology as well as economic and social benefits.

‘Gendered social innovation’: a new research stream for gender-inclusive innovation policy, research and practice

Gendered social innovation : A new research stream for gender inclusive innovation policy, research and practice

Gender dimensions in women’s networking for social innovation

Even if the number of research studies on social innovation has increased the last years, due to its perceived potential to address complex societal challenges, there still remains several relevant aspects to be explored, such as the impact of gendered norms and patterns on the transition from social inclusion to social exclusion strived for in social innovation processes. In order to further expand the dawning scientific field of social innovation, this article presents a case study of a Swedish network promoting women’s employment, entrepreneurship and innovation, exploring the complex and multiple gender aspects of social innovation. The potentials and delimitations of the network to address gender on various levels of social innovation is scrutinized by means of previous research on social and gender dimensions of innovation and organizational/societal change, exposing that further development of social innovation as a scientific field requires a comprehensive approach to the identification and analysis of the gendered norms, subordination and empowerment that affect the aspired transition from social exclusion to social inclusion in social innovation processes.

BEHAVIOURAL IMPLICATIONS OF EMPLOYEE-DRIVEN INNOVATION — A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

This paper examines a digital employee-oriented innovation program at a global IT-firm. It addresses the research question: how is the generation and promotion of employee ideas organised by the management, and what are the behavioural implications in terms of participation of such an organising? Drawing on the literature on inclusive innovation and employee-driven innovation, the authors explore the extent to which ordinary employees are included in innovative processes at work. The critical discourse analysis of written and spoken text exposes inclusiveness concerning the managements’ production and distribution of innovation discourse in the initial phases of the program. However, the analysis simultaneously reveals considerable excluding elements in the ordinary employees’ consumption of this discourse in its latter phases, particularly regarding the parallel discourses “we are all innovators” and “the single winning entrepreneur”.

Idealistic incentives in non-governmental organization innovativeness : bridging theoretical gaps

Abstract This paper bridges the theoretical gap between traditional innovation studies and more recent studies of innovation among civil society actors and contexts. The paper presents a study of the nature and function of idealistic incentives in innovativeness of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) based on case studies of two national NGOs in Sweden, the Sensus Study Association and the Church of Sweden. The results show that the idealistic incentives of a basic view of human beings focusing on dignity and solidarity in the studied cases are closely related to various forms of NGO innovativeness, including the identification of challenges and needs, the aspired change at individual, organizational and societal levels, the involvement of concerned groups, and in cross-organizational and cross-sectoral cooperation. This contributes new knowledge not only of what NGO innovation entails and how it is brought about, but also of why such processes are initiated and thus why individual, organizational and societal transformation is essential in such processes. As part of this, the probable impact of beliefs, norms, ideologies and identities on all innovation processes, regardless of sectoral context, is highlighted.

Gender-sensitive Business Counselling : Changing the Gendered Pattern and Understanding of Entrepreneurship

This chapter compiles existing studies on gender-sensitive business counselling—an increasingly common policy measure in Western economies to increase the number of women entrepreneurs—and compares them with an empirical case carried out in Sweden to determine whether this kind of counselling can change the gendered pattern and understanding of entrepreneurship. Eight components and three effects are distinguished, some of which are specific to gender-sensitive business counselling, while others are similar to general counselling methods, requiring symmetrical relations between counsellor and client and the client’s active role in order to contribute to changes in the gendered pattern and understanding of entrepreneurship.

Boundary dimensions of social innovation : negotiating conflicts and compatibilities when developing a national agenda

In order to add to the existing knowledge on the complex institutional dynamics of negotiating conflicts and compatibilities in innovation processes that address societal challenges and social needs, this article scrutinizes the scientific and societal debate on the theoretical and practical application of “social innovation” by means of the concept “boundary object” linked to institutional theory. A participatory case study of the development of an R&I agenda for social innovation in Sweden, formulated through dialog between stakeholders from the public, private and non-profit sectors, is presented. The results show that the unpredictable, emergent, evolving and adaptable character of needs, challenges and solutions in social innovation processes is made more theoretically and practically manageable by acknowledging social innovation as a boundary object. This is since this concept, despite its ambiguous character, helps balance complexity and usefulness in a way that serves to expand existing knowledge on institutional dynamics.

The Contested Cluster Concept: Paradoxical Pathways to Nordic Innovations

The cluster concept has had great influence on national and regional policies for growth and innovation in Sweden since it was introduced in the late 1990s. This article argues that while the cluster concept has been relatively uncontested on the national policy arena, it has been contested on the regional arena regarding its meaning and proper use. We scrutinize this contestation as a matter of power struggles between different actors concerning the preferential right of interpretation of which organizations, areas and innovations are to be considered as important in policies and practices promoting clusters. The article thus highlights the tricky balance act performed by policy makers and civil servants when deciding on prioritization versus diversification. The article contributes to the further development of both policies and theories on growth and innovation by empirically mapping and discussing the impact of power struggles on clusters as pathways to innovation. In order to exemplify these struggle...