Responsible innovation for addressing grand societal challenges: the role of social innovation, exaptation, and retrovation

Numerous substantial challenges confront both individuals and society in the contemporary era. These encompass issues such as economic disparities, climate change, political polarization, and health crises such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic. These multifaceted challenges possess the potential to wield profound repercussions on the lives of individuals, business communities, societies, and the global landscape as well as to stimulate original patterns of responsible innovation. Addressing them necessitates a strategic blend of short-term remedies and far-reaching planning endeavours. Within the scope of this research, the manuscript elucidates the pivotal role of social innovation, exaptation, and retrovation as pioneering modes of responsible innovation uniquely suited to address the prevailing societal conundrums. Furthermore, it will explore the facilitative capacity of knowledge networks, positioning them as instruments that catalyze the implementation of these innovative strategies. Lastly, the article will deliberate upon the prospective trajectories within the domain of responsible innovation.