Encrucijadas sociales de la innovación

Abstract

Recent and growing literature on innovation has produced a good number of definitions and categorizations that reflect their disciplines and approaches of origin, as well as their theoretical and practical commitments. The distinction between product innovation and process innovation, or the classification according to the degree of novelty produced (or innovation "intensity" ), are among the taxonomical strategies. Although classical approaches on innovation have systematically ignored its social aspects, the new and successful category of "social innovation" constitutes a label that includes very diverse types of practices. In this contribution we will analyze the different understandings of "social innovation" and we will argue that an appropriate innovation should always be a kind of social innovation.