10296: Discursive Foundations of Responsible and Sustainable Innovation

Over the past 25 years, discursive approaches have gained significant prominence in organization theory, focusing on interrelated texts, meanings and practices and how they influence organizational realities emphasizing that organizations are not merely structures but are socially constructed through discourse. They revealed how language is used strategically by actors to construct meaning, build and implement new strategies, manage conflicts, mobilize resources within organizational contexts and reduce resistance to change. While discursive institutionalism forms a distinctive approach in institutional theory and political science, the tensions between policies, societal demands and business interests have been highlighted by researchers working in the areas of corporate social responsibility and sustainability. These studies have in common that discourses are perceived as a foundation of legitimacy and as instruments of change. Although application of discursive approaches in innovation management is rather at the beginning, first studies used discursive approaches to analyze narratives, tensions and institutional aspects of Responsible Innovation, which are particularly relevant in light of the unprecedented pace of innovation in AI, nano- and bio-technologies. The purpose of this panel symposium is to discuss how discursive approaches can be applied in responsible and sustainable innovation, bringing together international top scholars of organization studies and leading authors of responsible and sustainable innovation research. It builds on a successful caucus organized at AOM 2024 where a network of leading researchers was established and will contribute to an edited volume in the book series ‘Emerald Studies in Sustainable Business Development’. The symposium will focus on the following questions: (1) What are the origins and recent challenges of responsible innovation and what institutional changes can be derived (René von Schomberg)? (2) What are dominant narratives and framings of responsible and sustainable innovation and how can they be linked to business logics (André Martinuzzi & Svetlana Ivanova)? (3) How do the social constructions of identity and of relationships interface and what consequences can be derived for responsible and sustainable innovation (Cliff Oswick)? (4) How do discourses shift power relations and shape societal deliberations with distributional consequences (Steve Maguire & Jarryd Daymond)? (5) How can a dialogical approach be utilized to ‘unfreeze’ organizations and create motivation and means to generate innovations necessary to tackle climate risk (David Grant)? (6) Which rhetorical strategies can be identified in the area of responsible AI and what are their implications for responsible innovation (Yuan Li)?