Looking for a Needle in a Haystack: How to Search for Bottom‐Up Social Innovations that Solve Complex Humanitarian Problems

Abstract

The worldwide increase in societal challenges is putting pressure on humanitarian organizations to develop sophisticated approaches to leverage social innovations in the humanitarian sector. Since humanitarian problems are complex problems, with the relevant knowledge being hidden, organizational search theory advocates the application of bottom-up and theory-guided search processes to identify the social innovations that solve these. Unfortunately, there has been no theoretical attention to understanding which approaches apply in this context. Further, established theory-guided bottom-up search processes, such as the lead user method, are unsuitable to the humanitarian sector, and we lack practice examples of adequate search processes. To start addressing this gap in theory and practice, procedural action research was done with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to develop a theory-guided bottom-up innovation search process for the real-life humanitarian problem of recurring floods in Indonesia. It revealed that an innovation search process for this context must differ significantly concerning its objectives and the steps to be taken from the lead user method, which was used as a starting point. Further, a comparison of the technical quality and the social impacts of the identified social innovations with social innovations identified through a non-theory-guided bottom-up search process (i.e., an innovation contest) suggests the superiority of this theory-guided search process. With this conclusion and the insights derived throughout the development of the search process, this study makes important contributions to theory development in the social and open innovation literatures and delivers important recommendations for social innovation practice in the humanitarian sector.

Social Innovation in an Interconnected World: Introduction to the Special Issue

“…In the first article “Looking for a Needle in a Haystack: How to Search for Bottom‐Up Social Innovations that Solve Complex Humanitarian Problems,” Kruse, Goeldner, Eling, and Herstatt () examine how a lead user process is adapted to enable the identification of solutions to a humanitarian problem. In collaboration with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, this study creates a much needed link to the rich innovation and new product development (NPD) process literature.…”

“…When and under which conditions? The study by Kruse et al (), for example, identified a set of adaptations in the lead user method that are necessary for innovation in a humanitarian context. ‐How is human resource management (HRM) affected when pursuing social innovation? What should incentives and positions look like to effectively pursue social innovation?…”

Floating down the river: Vietnamese community-led social innovation

“…For the purposes of this paper, it is important to better understand how the emergence of social innovations (and specifically community-led social enterprises) is constrained by wider ecosystem factors, specifically in relation to institutional constraints. Although prior research has demonstrated the high levels of impact delivered by bottom-up social innovations globally (Kruse et al , 2019), the reality in different regions is that social innovation as an ecosystem can be often overly driven (and constrained) by top-down factors. Given that the role of social innovations are to change cultural, normative and regulative structures in society (Heiskala, 2007), there is, therefore, a potential systemic bias within countries or ecosystems to inhibit the emergence of said innovations.…”

User Entrepreneurs for Social Innovation: The Case of Patients and Caregivers as Developers of Tangible Medical Devices

“…To date, there has been very little research at the intersection of user innovation and social innovation (Kruse et al 2019) and on how user-entrepreneurs contribute to social innovation. We investigate cases of patients and caregivers as userentrepreneurs for social innovation.…”

“…Our second contribution relates to the emerging research field of social innovation (van der Have and Rubalcaba 2016; Cajaiba-Santana 2014) and the poorly understood connection between user innovation and social innovation (Kruse et al 2019). Building on an unmet medical need, users such as patients and caregivers go beyond their own problem space and address the needs of many others.…”