Social and Technological Innovation: Cross-Fertilization Needed

A growing interest in the use of technology to solve societal problems has raised in recent years. However, technological applications that aim to tackle societal challenges frequently risk having unintended negative consequences, particularly for underrepresented and disadvantaged groups. This is the case, for instance, with data-intensive technologies and applications for the sharing economy. A way to prevent the generation of negative externalities may be the contamination of conventional tech innovation processes with social innovation distilled features. This contamination act could be advantageous for both social and technological actors and strengthen the collective capacity to generate impact through technology. However, it requires rethinking innovation processes and the roles various actors play inside them as well as reconceptualizing innovation drivers and value redistribution mechanisms. In this chapter, we will discuss the potential benefits of contaminating the two paradigms. We conclude with a reflection on the role that Universities play in this scenario.