The collaborative process of sustainable innovations under the lens of actor–network theory

Aka, K. G. et Labelle, F. (2021). The collaborative process of sustainable innovations under the lens of actor–network theory. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13 (19). ISSN 2071-1050 DOI 10.3390/su131910756

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Résumé

The development of sustainable innovation (SI) is complex and risky due to the characteristics and diversity of actors involved in its process. Little is known about the collaborative process underlying this development. The objective of the paper is to explore the collaborative mechanisms and dynamics that influence the process and characteristics of sustainable innovations. The translation approach of the actor–network theory is applied to shed light on the collaborative process of two cases of sustainable innovations within small-and medium-sized enterprises. The sociotechnical graph method is used as a methodology to track the mechanisms and compare the dynamics of their processes. The results reveal that the governance characteristic of sustainable innovations and the moment of mobilization are essential aspects of the collaborative processes. They show that, depending on the intensity and systemic impacts of SI, attraction and retention are important mechanisms in the construction of the governance characteristics of SI. A manager who uses these mechanisms during the mobilization of actors, having resources related to the governance characteristics, succeeds in sustainable innovation development. The paper contributes to the literature on sustainability management by linking the ‘becoming’ of sustainable innovations to their collaborative processes. It also informs managers on how to manage the collaborative process of sustainable innovations by relying on a translation approach. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Type de document:	Article
Mots-clés libres:	INRPME Actor–network theory Collaborative process Sustainable innovation Translation approach Detection method Governance approach Innovation Management practice Methodology Small and medium-sized enterprise Sustainability
Date de dépôt:	28 févr. 2023 21:14
Dernière modification:	28 févr. 2023 21:14
Version du document déposé:	Version officielle de l'éditeur
URI:	https://depot-e.uqtr.ca/id/eprint/10505

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