The Innovation Delusion: How Our Obsession with the New Has Disrupted the Work That Matters Most (2020), by Lee Vinsel and Andrew L. Russell, presents a blistering critique of the contemporary ideology of innovation, exposing what the authors call «innovation-speak» – a hegemonic discourse that glorifies disruptive change and marginalises the essential work of maintenance.
The Innovation Delusion, by Lee Vinsel and Andrew L. Russell, published not many years ago (2020), is among the scholar books one must read, especially for younger generations and policymakers around the world. Many years ago, Steven Shapin (1989) unearthed the role of the technician in modern science. Innovation Delusion does the same for hidden activities in innovation — i.e., activities related to technology and engineering. Maintenance, upkeep and care is the motto behind Vinsel and Russell’s book.
Adaptive Governance (AG) can be seen as a public administration paradigm designed to navigate complex, turbulent, and uncertain environments. Traditional governance models, rooted in Weberian bureaucratic power and hierarchy or New Public Management (NPM) rooted in the rule of efficiency, are increasingly ill-equipped to manage the "problem of rhythm" (Janssen & van der Voort, 2016)—the mismatch between the slow pace of bureaucracy and the rapid, unpredictable nature of contemporary societal challenges. Adaptive Governance is more suited to dealing with these challenges by prioritizing learning, flexibility, experimentation, and decentralized feedback loops (Janssen & van der Voort, 2016). The central theoretical contribution of AG is its resolution of the "stability versus adaptability" paradox through the concept of ambidexterity: the capacity of a public organization to simultaneously "explore" new solutions and "exploit" stable, efficient processes (Janssen & van der Voort, 2016). By analyzing the existing literature, we connect AG to same family concepts like Collaborative Governance (CG) and Co-creation. We further offer a series of general examples of contemporary challenges which can be successfully managed through AG. We finally propose (based on the literature) a general set of strengths and weakness of the paradigm that highlights better its novel nature and its “provisional” status in the governance paradigm reality.
Public relations. Industrial publicity, Political institutions and public administration (General)
Good Governance and Resilience: Sharing Best Practices and Challenges in Times of Crisis across Europe is a collective volume edited by Laura Mina-Raiu, Lara Johannsdottir, Ivana Načinović Braje and Aída Díaz-Tendero (2022) exploring the concepts of governance and resilience during various types of crises. These range from smaller issues - such as public or employee dissatisfaction with organizational decision-making - that can escalate if left unresolved, to major crises like the COVID-19 pandemic that impacted Europe in 2020. The book features 11 case studies that highlight diverse institutional responses to crises across countries with varying socio-economic context and development levels from different European countries: Croatia, Spain, Lithuania, Romania and Iceland all examined through the lens of governance and resilience.
Public relations. Industrial publicity, Political institutions and public administration (General)
This paper explores how inclusive and environmentally focused research and innovation policies challenge dominant models by reshaping directionality and governance for social transformation. It contributes to Critical and Transformative Innovation Studies by addressing key intertwined gaps: the role of agency, the political economy of policy instruments, the politics of continuity, and its territorial grounding. Analytically, it expands a Knowledge Systems approach, promoting a broader, symmetrical view of innovation that values diverse actors, policies, infrastructures, and knowledges. It challenges competitiveness-driven assumptions by exploring how alternative normative directions are negotiated over time. Through two case studies in Argentina—Yogurito (a probiotic yogurt to address malnutrition) and the Paraná River Aquarium (focused on biodiversity conservation)—the paper traces innovation journeys as a process where multiple actors vie to steer its course. Directionality is framed as both a political process of prioritization and decision making amid competing interests and its negotiated outcome, shaped by actors’ visions, knowledge, and policy preferences. The paper also proposes a framework to empirically trace and analyze these evolving pathways. It shows how innovation is steered, which orientations take precedence, and the limits and possibilities of STI as a development driver under enduring structural constraints.
STĂNILĂ Manuel-Victoraș, PROFIROIU Constantin-Marius, BURLACU Sorin
et al.
Corporate governance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is an increasingly active area of research in the international literature, amid persistent concerns about their efficiency, transparency and vulnerability to political influence. In the context of administrative reforms and pressures for performance in the public sector, understanding the theoretical and geographical evolution of studies dedicated to governance in SOEs is becoming essential for researchers and decision-makers. The aim of this article is to conduct a systematic bibliometric analysis of the academic literature published in the period 2000–2024, using the Scopus database and VOSviewer software to map scientific networks and emerging themes.
The study aims to identify the dominant theories used in corporate governance research in SOEs (such as agency theory, stakeholder theory and stewardship theory), to highlight influential scientific contributions and to analyze the
geographical distribution of academic production. The methodology is based on the selection and coding of over 300 relevant articles, followed by the visualization of keyword co-occurrence networks and collaborations between authors and institutions. The results indicate a constant increase in interest in this topic, but also a conceptual fragmentation and limited international collaboration.
The main contribution of the research consists in providing a rigorous synthesis of the current state of the literature and in formulating future research directions, with an emphasis on comparative, cross-regional and theoretically anchored studies. The direct beneficiaries are public administration researchers, government decision-makers and practitioners involved in governance reform in public enterprises. The conclusions emphasize the need to strengthen integrated approaches and transnational collaborations to increase the scientific relevance and practical impact of future research.
Public relations. Industrial publicity, Political institutions and public administration (General)
In this article, I will explore how the underlying research values of ‘openness’ and ‘mutual responsiveness’, which are central to open science practices, can be integrated into a new ethos of science. Firstly, I will revisit Robert Merton's early contribution to this issue, examining whether the ethos of science should be understood as a set of norms for scientists to practice ‘good’ science or as a set of research values as a functional requirement of the scientific system to produce knowledge, irrespective of individual adherence to these norms. Secondly, I will analyse the recent codification of scientific practice in terms of ‘scientific integrity’, a framework that Merton did not pursue. Based on this analysis, and illustrated on the case of COVID-19 as a case in which the institution of science was challenged to deliver urgently on societal desirable outcomes, I will argue that promoting open science and its core norms of collaboration and openness requires broader governance of the institution of science in its relationship with society at large, rather than relying solely on self-governance within the scientific community through a new ethos of science. This conclusion has implications for re-evaluating research assessments, suggesting that the evaluation of the scientific system should take precedence over evaluating individual researchers, and that incentives should be provided to encourage specific research behaviour rather than solely focusing on individual research outputs.
Von Schomberg offers a compelling examination of key open science principles and their potential role in fostering responsible research and innovation (RRI). Utilizing Merton's Ethos of Science framework, the paper constructs a series of arguments supporting a central thesis: “the transition towards open science is vital to facilitate RRI.” This transition necessitates significant institutional reforms within the scientific community and adjustments to incentive structures that promote the adoption of open and mutually responsive practices.
The manuscript reframes the discourse surrounding responsibility and responsiveness in light of the evolving landscape of open science, shifting the focus from normative commitments to actionable frameworks in research and open science practices. Overall, the position paper strives to bridge the gap between idealised models of scientific communities based on RRI principles and the reality of actual scientific endeavour (Anderson et al., 2007; Politi, 2021, 2024).
However, it is important to acknowledge certain omissions that could enrich the analysis. Firstly, a more comprehensive examination of the profound crisis facing science amidst the increasing marketisation and commodification of academia and research would provide valuable context beyond discussions of system failures related to productivity and reproducibility. Secondly, a more nuanced and critical approach to conceptualising open science would enrich the discussion, considering its multifaceted nature and potential pitfalls. Thirdly, the validity of the Mertonian framework and its selective analysis of values, particularly its exclusive focus on the norm of communism. Lastly, a deeper exploration of the challenges and promises inherent in the pursuit of responsible Open Science within ongoing institutional processes.
This research investigates the relationship between exchange rates and economic growth in Nigeria during the period from 1981 to 2019. The research conducted an analysis of Nigerian data using the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) technique and identified that Exchange Rates have a favourable impact on Economic Growth. This paper affirmed the regression's validity with stationary residuals and found no long-term equilibrium using Bound Cointegration. The ARDL modelling revealed short-term connections between exchange rates and economic growth. Positive correlations were observed between exchange rates, GDP per capita growth, interest rates, and total exports, while negative relationships were noted with inflation and total imports, highlighting the importance of exchange rate stability in sustaining economic growth. This research provides a novel viewpoint on the connection between exchange rates and economic growth in Nigeria during the period from 1981 to 2019. It uncovers that more than 98% of the fluctuations in exchange rates can be accounted for by the included variables. The noteworthy discovery of the absence of a long-term equilibrium relationship within the specified time frame sets this study apart. Furthermore, it underscores the crucial role of exchange rate stability in promoting enduring economic growth, emphasising the necessity for well-designed policies that consider the intricate economic landscape.
Public relations. Industrial publicity, Political institutions and public administration (General)
COVID-19 had a tremendous impact on education and the well-being of both students and teachers. The paper analyses the undergraduate students’ and academics’ perception of the online education services provided by the Faculty of Administration and Public Management (FAPM) of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies (BUES). Individual interviews and an online survey were carried out in order to reflect both the pros and cons of online learning and the determinants that significantly impact the satisfaction of the main stakeholders of the education services. Research findings reveal that despite the great challenges related to online learning, many opportunities have emerged to advance the quality of education. Thus, students and teachers agree on the fact that traditional education and online education provide both advantages and disadvantages, suggesting that, in the future, a hybrid teaching-learning system might help bring together the strengths of both approaches.
Public relations. Industrial publicity, Political institutions and public administration (General)
NICA Elvira, SABIE Oana-Matilda, ANDRONICEANU Armenia
The present research identifies the most relevant motivation factors of the civil servants from the Fiscal Administration of Bucharest, District 1, Romania, but also the ways in which their motivation can be improved. The purpose of this research was achieved by adapting and combining three different instruments used in the literature in order to evaluate in what extent each factor influences the civil servants’ motivation. The research is based on a quantitative approach, and it is an exploratory study that was carried out using a combination of methods: the analysis of the official records, plus published articles; and the opinion survey based on a questionnaire, employing a convenience sampling, in order to design a set of recommendations for improving the current level of motivation among civil servants. The results show the need for introducing new ways of motivating civil servants, in order to increase their satisfaction and involvement.
Public relations. Industrial publicity, Political institutions and public administration (General)
Since the 1980’s, there was a growing interest into the privatization of public sector in Israel, under the influence of New Public Management. The present study analysis the influence of the employment status of public employees in Israe, on their work efficiency, satisfaction and on their organization performance. Using a quantitative research approach, 11 hypotheses were tested on a sample of 550 public employees with different employment status in the local authority of Givat Shmuel Municipality in Israel. The results show that that there is a strong relationship Cramer's V = 0.441 and significant correlation between an efficient employee (including/excluding causes of absenteeism) and employees with the different status of the employment (P <0.05, 388.44 = (44) 2χ). Also, the results indicate that between an efficient employee, excluding the factor of absenteeism, and status of employment there is a strong relationship, but weaker than the employee efficiency when including the factor of absenteeism: Cramer's V = 0.394 (P <0.05, 309.73 = (56) 2χ). A positive correlation was found between employees’ quality of service and the local authority’s performance (r s=0.541, p<0.05). An important finding is that an employee who is satisfied with his job, despite the tension arising from the different employment status as well as a low level of commitment among the other contract workers, is a motivated employee who will still contribute a higher level of performance of the public authority. Several recommendations for public managers are also formulated.
Public relations. Industrial publicity, Political institutions and public administration (General)
Bonno Pel, Julia M. Wittmayer, Flor Avelino
et al.
Society is transforming through a whirlpool of innovations. This includes technological as well as social innovations, i.e. changes in social relations involving new ways of doing, organizing, framing and knowing. Especially the potentials for transformative social innovation (TSI) are gaining the interest of progressive political actors and critical scholars. Occurring in the form of new modes of governance and alternative ways of working and living together, TSI involves the challenging, altering or replacing of dominant institutions. As documented in various strands of critical social inquiry and innovation research, TSI praxis is pervaded with contradictions, anomalies and paradoxes. This methodological contribution addresses the challenge that tends to remain: How to elaborate this general critical awareness into more operational ‘strategies of inquiry’? The paper discusses paradoxes of a) system reproduction, b) temporality, and c) reality construction. Identifying distinct kinds of contradictions and distinct empirical phenomena, this differentiation also calls attention to the associated differences between realist, processual and constructivist research philosophies. Gathering the empirical analyses, theoretical interpretations and methodological advances that have been made on these paradoxes, this contribution opens up the scope for critical and practically relevant innovation research: It is important to bridge the divide between rigorous but sterile methodological know-how, and critical-reflexive theorizing that lacks operational insights.
Users have no doubt become popular in innovation research. They are not considered a passive mass of adopters but as a more or less active agency in innovation processes. Diffusion research has, for instance, distinguished between several adopter categories: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. These categories can be mapped on the diffusion s-curve and indicate a temporal order along which innovations may be analysed. However, early or late adopters were still seen primarily as adopters. Concepts such as “reinvention” or “domestication” then put more emphasis on the ways in which an innovation may be changed within the adoption process. In these cases, innovations came from elsewhere (i.e., manufacturers), but the users were credited with more creative potential than simply adopting novelties. The turn towards user-driven innovations decidedly shifted the creative potential towards (specific) user groups, transgressing the traditional distinction between producers and consumers.
The involvement of users in innovation processes has been addressed under different labels, for instance, user innovation, open innovation, or participatory design and from different fields such as management and innovation research, science and technology studies, or social innovation studies. The main gist of these approaches lies in reclaiming hitherto neglected aspects, perspectives, or sources of innovations, thus arguing against a top-down producer-centred models of innovation by emphasising bottom-up user-centred modes of innovation. They reconfigure ideas about pushes and pulls, about the constellations and locales in which invention and diffusion occur, and about the transformations of innovations as they emerge and evolve over time and space.
This thematic issue of NOvation seeks to shed light on this increasing popularity of “the user” in innovation studies. We gather here contributions from diverse backgrounds that critically focus on the role of users in innovation studies, from empowerment and emancipation to valorisation and exploitation. We especially addressed the questions of why users have become popular both empirically and conceptually across a range of fields and spanning from academia to politics and civil society. How does user-centred innovation relate to more traditional models of producer-centred innovation? Which role do critical users play in innovation research? Are there specific fields in which users are seen to be more active than in others? Especially, who is considered to be a user or customer?
This paper reports original research into how parliaments (legislatures) address the ethical conduct of their members of parliament (MPs) as that may affect the accountability of MPs for their conduct, performance of the parliament and the reputation of the institution. It reports the findings of (i) a survey of all Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) member parliaments (ii) interviews of MPs and Clerks of selected CPA member parliaments and (iii) processes to develop benchmarks intended to guide CPA member parliaments in the design and/or revision of codes of conduct for MPs. Parliament is a key pillar of the National Integrity System (NIS) in a contemporary democracy. The NIS is the system of structural and behavioural features intended to improve accountability for conduct and reduce risks of corrupt behaviour, thereby improving the efficiency and effectiveness of societal outputs and hence superior social outcomes. The paper presents analysis of the range of provisions in current codes (or code-like provisions) as features of the Parliamentary Integrity System component of the NIS in CPA member parliaments. Whilst sanctions for unacceptable behaviour are found to be essential to the effectiveness of codes, behavioural factors are crucial to the effectiveness of any code. A disregard for a code and a failure to enforce it would render it ineffective. The paper discusses the effects of providing MPs with one or more sources of independent advice on ethical matters and also of providing for receipt and investigation of complaints to be independent of possible or perceived partisan influence. Finally, proposed benchmarks applicable to codes of conduct for MPs are outlined.
Public relations. Industrial publicity, Political institutions and public administration (General)
Every municipal corporation must prove continuous quality infrastructural services to people within its jurisdiction. But due to rise in population and paucity of financial resources, the Kalyan Dombivali Municipal corporation is not able to provide quality basic infrastructural facilities such as transportation, roads and traffic management, sewage treatment, solid waste management, education and health care. Kalyan Dombivali municipal corporation is declared as smart city. But funds are inadequate to provide quality infrastructure to people. Already the capital expenditure is very low for various services and economically weaker section and poor people of city. Municipal corporation is spending very less on education as far as revenue expenditure is concerned. Slums are increasing due to lack of affordable housing scheme. There is need to invest more money on infrastructural facilities such as safe and sustainable drinking water, complete sanitation, sewage treatment, technological investment in road traffic management and environment sustainability. Municipal corporation should not depend on central and state government resources to finance capital expenditure. It must raise capital through issue of municipal infrastructure debt bonds. It must increase the property tax, water tariff, tax on registration of private vehicles, registration and transfer fees on private properties. Such measures will certainly improve the financial condition of the Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation and it will able to provide the better quality infrastructural facilities to its population.
Public relations. Industrial publicity, Political institutions and public administration (General)
The paper is analyzing basic operative terms of visual communication in contemporary digital media environment, which determinates analytical units of media communication and the new culture of communicating and message dissemination. Theory discussion is conducted by diachronic and synchrony analysis of elements of visual communication in digital environment and theory of public action. The main goal
is to establish new communicative paradigm of media communication which includes the evaluation of digital skills, media literacy and the characteristics of the
new hybrid digital society. Authors observe modern media communication and visual digitalization, not only in technical sense of transmission and adjustment of analog signal into digital signal, but also, simultaneous development of digital culture
and adaptation of media content, media production and distribution of content to the
new web environment (Web 2.0, Web 3.0, Web 4.0 and theoretical possibilities of so
called Web 5.0) deriving the new contexts of social power.
Communication. Mass media, Public relations. Industrial publicity
The diagnosis of the problem of the contemporary world in the area of global media
communication is a basic challenge for existing and modernised educational systems. Without a complete vision of the world, people cannot exist in a fully aware
way. Hence, the most important questions related to such social development in
which no one would be excluded from the world-wide circulation of information.
The general assumptions of common media education have been presented in the
article.
Communication. Mass media, Public relations. Industrial publicity
Under special subheadings were shortly described: main periods of communication; four levels of literacy; information processes, operations and institutions in historical perspective; main chain of informational „contact points“;
relationships between „contact points“; and some hints for policy concerning
institutions, such as archives, libraries, and documentation centres, as well as
new ones using unconventional tools, such as computer and telecommunication centers. Above all the role of education of potential originators of new
information (e-mitters) and various kind of users (absorbers) at the university
level is emphasized.
Communication. Mass media, Public relations. Industrial publicity
Gérald Gaglio, Benoît Godin, Sebastian Pfotenhauer
Innovation is an old word, of Greek origin, that came into the Latin vocabulary in the early Middle Age and into our everyday vocabulary with the Reformation. However, it is only during the second half of the twentieth century that innovation became a fashionable concept and turned into a buzzword. It gave rise to a plethora of terms like technological innovation, organizational innovation, industrial innovation and, more recently, social innovation, open innovation, sustainable innovation, responsible innovation. We may call these terms X-innovation.
In this way, X-innovation is the latest step to give sense to a century-old process of enlargement of the concept of innovation. Over the last five centuries, innovation enlarged its meaning from the religious to the political to the social to the economical. X-innovation is the more recent such enlargement. It Is the continuation, under new terms, of the contestation of technological innovation as the dominant discourse of the twentieth century.
How can we make sense of this semantic extension? Why do these terms come into being? What drives people to coin new terms? What effects do the terms have on thought, on culture and scholarship and on policy and politics? Which forms of contestation and appropriation ensue around certain X-innovations? How do they shape, and are shaped by, broader social trends? How to they relate to questions of power and inclusion?