Towards a path-transformative heuristic in inclusive innovation initiatives: an exploratory case in rural communities in Colombia

Abstract

This study contributes to a better understanding of the transformative process towards inclusive innovation from the perspective of three literature branches, inclusive innovation, institutional entrepreneurship and path dependence. Based on these literature branches, we ensemble a heuristic to assess the role of Institutional Entrepreneurs in fostering Inclusive Innovation initiatives supported by National Entities in local communities. To assess the heuristic and answer the beforehand question, we used an exploratory case at the municipality of Cumbal, in Nariño (Colombia). Through secondary information analysis and preliminary fieldwork observations, we demonstrate usefulness of the heuristic to unfold the transformative process in local communities. Also, we identified Institutional Entrepreneurs as change agents.

Transformative Innovation Policy in Emerging Economies: What Does It Entail?

“…Our reflection about the Colombian case shows how transformation endeavours do not emerge from an aleatory interaction of actors (Farla et al, 2012). We suggest focusing on the role of institutional entrepreneurs to understand the role of the agency in TIP (Pinzón et al, 2020). Their analysis will contribute to identifying both enabling conditions and strategies (Battilana et al, 2009) that these agents will require to set the direction f or the TIP's vision to mobilize resources.…”

Políticas de innovación inclusiva y tensiones en torno a su implementación y evaluación en Colombia: el caso de A Ciencia Cierta

“…Eventualmente, este proceso requiere la intermediación de emprendedores institucionales (Pinzón-Camargo et al, 2020), quienes pueden desempeñar un rol estratégico en la traducción entre, por un lado, el lenguaje "heterodoxo" de las políticas de innovación inclusiva y, por otro, el lenguaje tecnoeconómico que caracteriza el quehacer de la planeación en Colombia, para que estas sean legitimadas y apropiadas por los tomadores de decisión. Dicha traducción puede presentarse en varias formas.…”

Navigating inclusive innovation : the role of institutional entrepreneurs in inclusive innovation initiatives

“…Innovation can be viewed as a direct approach to development, addressing directly the concerns and needs of those excluded from the benefits of the development (Arocena & Sutz, 2017). In this regard, a constellation of x-novation alternatives is emerging with the aim of coping with world challenges and driving a more sustainable and inclusive development (Thomas, Juarez, & Picabea, 2015;Pinzón-Camargo, Ordoñez-Matamoros, & Kuhlmann, 2020). One of these x-novation alternatives is Inclusive Innovation.…”

“…Regarding the direct and indirect approaches to development, I argue that InIn is settled under the direct development approach. As it will be discussed in the following section, InIn is a set of strategies to foster development in marginalised settings, and it is featured by working directly with these communities and empowering them (Pinzón-Camargo, Ordoñez-Matamoros, & Kuhlmann, 2020). Thus, the consistency between the notion of InIn and the direct approach to development is clear.…”

“…For this objective, an illustrative case was conducted in the municipality of Cumbal in the Nariño's Department, on the border with Ecuador. The results of this illustrative case were published in Pinzón-Camargo, Ordoñez-Matamoros, & Kuhlmann (2020). In this article, the authors pointed out: "We are not looking for extrapolating claims from the case analysis but discuss the heuristic strengths and drawbacks as a starting point to unfold path-transformative phenomena.…”