A Review of Different Theoretical Approaches Towards Sustainable Development Goals in the Area of Research, Development and Innovation

In this paper, sustainable development in the context of RDI by enterprises and government-level science policies are explored, keeping in mind the multi-level and multi-dimensional areas of the system within which the embedded actors network. To explain the phenomenon of successful and sustainable knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship, the authors have studied theories in three broad fields, namely: general theories justifying IPR, organisational theories in the field of technology and social systems theory (with emphasis on the 4 S Model). The authors comparatively analyse how the above theories sustainably influence RDI. IPR theories reveal shortcomings regarding sustainability. Similarly, an emphasis on organisational theories yields poor results. Looking at the ecosystem as a whole using the social systems theory and the 4 S Model provides a better fit for explaining the sustainability of RDI. The authors have identified 19 key attributes based on the sustainable development goals in the form of cultural, economic, social and strategic capitals. All the aforementioned four capitals derived from the above model should be developed sufficiently in laws and policies so that the social system can last and be sustainable. Key words Sustainable development goals Research Development and Innovation science policies social systems theory 4 S Model organisational theories intellectual property rights