University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

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2006; Senge & Carstedt 2001). These signals may then be proactively captured and
translated into new products/services, processes and business models (Rodriguez et
al. 2002).
Thus, managing the dynamics of open innovation and social responsibility is an
important basis for sustainability and viability of the organization.
When an organization as a whole is designed in such a way that innovation is built in
the primary activities from the organization down to its smallest units, Tidd et al.
(2005) speak of ‘high involvement innovation’. The same can be applied to CSR:
when the organizational structure is designed so that the primary activities from the
organization down to its smallest units - as much as the division of labour permits -
reflect the organization’s performance and societal function(s), we can speak
similarly of ‘high involvement responsibility’.
Thus companies are faced with additional goals (innovation, CSR), and attached to
these goals they have to take into account the interests of new parties. The aim of this
study is to obtain insight in how stakeholders can be involved in corporate
responsible innovation of products and processes, and how these interactions with
stakeholders and CR innovation processes can be anchored in the organizational
structure.
There are three important questions we attach to the aim of involving stakeholders in
innovation of products and processes:
1. How can the interactions with stakeholders be integrated so that the organization
as a whole remains viable? To answer this question, we will make use of the
Viable System Model (Beer 1979, 1985, 1995)
2. How can the organizational structure be designed so that it creates most
opportunities for innovation: high involvement innovation? To answer this
question, we will make use of the Viable System Model and sociotechnical
theory (De Sitter 1998)
3. How can the organizational structure be designed so that CSR can be anchored
throughout the organization: high involvement responsibility? To answer this
question, we will make use of the Viable System Model, sociotechnical theory
and stakeholder theory.
The combination of the Viable System Model (Beer 1979, 1985, 1995) and social
system theory (Trist et al. 1963; De Sitter 1998) offers the possibility to describe,
analyze and design interactions with stakeholders (dialogue, cooperation) in
conjunction with the infrastructure of the organization. This can be a basis for
capturing stakeholder knowledge and transform it into innovative products, services
and processes.
The Viable System Model
Organizations, certain networks of organizations (e.g. a supply chain) and a society
can be considered as ‘viable systems’, i.e. systems 29 that can lead a separate
29 ‘A system consists of a group of elements dynamically related in time according to some coherent pattern’