Social Innovation: Way beyond CSR

Abstract

The environment in which the organizations used to function a decade back has changed drastically. Today, the organizations are operating in a volatile environment, marked by increasing economic disruptions, failures in corporate governance, political upturns and increasing loss of trust by the shareholders. On top of it, is the changing consumer behavior and increasing activism for environmental concerns. These factors make it imperative for the organizations to be more transparent and accountable in their functioning along with more responsiveness towards the environment and society in general. Although the organizations have been involved in corporate social responsibility (CSR) since long, but now is the time where they need to think beyond, it’s time to innovate and move towards social innovation. Innovation is required in every aspect, including teaching, practice, and research, therefore humanistic management has introduced a notion of systematic social innovation. The purpose of this article is to bring conceptual clarity in relation to social innovation and as well as to understand its relationship with corporate social responsibility. The paper further highlights the practical application of social innovation by emphasizing on the organisations that have engaged in practising social innovation in reality.

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Corporate Social Innovation, Social
Innovation, Change, Sustainability.