Leadership for Social Innovation in Organizations
Keywords:
Social innovation, holistic sustainable development, leadership, organizational climate, stakeholder involvementAbstract
Social innovation has emerged as a critical approach through which organizations address complex and interconnected societal, economic, and environmental challenges while simultaneously enhancing organizational effectiveness and long-term sustainability. In an era marked by rapid global change, leadership plays a pivotal role in initiating, guiding, and scaling social innovation initiatives. Effective leaders not only inspire vision but also foster collaboration, ethical decision-making, and inclusive participation among diverse stakeholders. This study explores the evolving leadership paradigm that supports social innovation, focusing on leadership styles, competencies, and behavioral attributes that enable transformative social change. The paper examines key leadership models such as transformational, ethical, and responsible leadership, highlighting their contribution to innovation-driven social impact. It further analyzes the importance of organizational structures, culture, and governance mechanisms that create an enabling environment for innovation. Emphasis is placed on stakeholder engagement, cross- sector partnerships, and the integration of social values into strategic decision-making processes. Based on an extensive review of existing literature, the study develops a conceptual framework linking leadership practices with organizational climate, stakeholder collaboration, and desired social innovation outcomes. The findings contribute to the growing discourse on sustainable and values-based leadership by offering practical insights for managers, policymakers, and community leaders. Ultimately, the research underscores that strong, adaptive, and ethically grounded leadership is essential for achieving meaningful and scalable social innovation in contemporary organizations.
References
Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1994). Improving organizational effectiveness through transformational leadership. Sage Publications.
Dees, J. G. (2001). The meaning of social entrepreneurship. Stanford University Working Paper.
Drucker, P. F. (1985). Innovation and entrepreneurship. Harper & Row.
Maak, T., & Pless, N. M. (2006). Responsible leadership in a stakeholder society. Journal of Business Ethics, 66(1), 99–115.
Mumford, M. D. (2000). Managing creative people: Strategies and tactics for innovation. Human Resource Management Review, 10(3), 313–351.
OECD. (2011). Fostering innovation to address social challenges. OECD Publishing.
Phills, J. A., Deiglmeier, K., & Miller, D. T. (2008). Rediscovering social innovation. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 6(4), 34–43.
Pless, N. M. (2007). Understanding responsible leadership. Journal of Business Ethics, 74(4), 437–456.
Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in organizations (8th ed.). Pearson Education.
United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. United Nations Publishing.
Mulgan, G., Tucker, S., Ali, R., & Sanders, B. (2007). Social innovation: What it is, why it matters and how it can be accelerated. Young Foundation.
Dawson, P., & Daniel, L. (2010). Understanding social innovation: A provisional framework. International Journal of Technology Management, 51(1), 9–21.
Murray, R., Caulier-Grice, J., & Mulgan, G. (2010). The open book of social innovation. Nesta & Young Foundation.
Westley, F., & Antadze, N. (2010). Making a difference: Strategies for scaling social innovation for greater impact. The Innovation Journal, 15(2), 1–19.
Nicholls, A., & Murdock, A. (2012). Social innovation: Blurring boundaries to reconfigure markets. Palgrave Macmillan.
Cajaiba-Santana, G. (2014). Social innovation: Moving the field forward. A conceptual framework. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 82, 42–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2013.05.008
Westley, F., McGowan, K., & Tjörnbo, O. (2014). The evolution of social innovation: Building resilience through transitions. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Crosby, B. C., & Bryson, J. M. (2010). Integrative leadership and the creation and maintenance of cross-sector collaborations. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(2), 211–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2010.01.003
Nanus, B. (1992) [19]. Visionary leadership: Creating a compelling sense of direction for your organization. Jossey-Bass.
Brown, M. E., Treviño, L. K., & Harrison, D. A. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97(2), 117–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2005.03.002
Waldman, D. A., & Galvin, B. M. (2008). Alternative perspectives of responsible leadership. Organizational Dynamics, 37(4), 327 341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2008.07.001
Nembhard, I. M., & Edmondson, A. C. (2006). Making it safe: The effects of leader inclusiveness on psychological safety and improvement efforts in health care teams. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27(7), 941–966. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.413
Mumford, M. D., Scott, G. M., Gaddis, B., & Strange, J. M. (2002) [5]. Leading creative people: Orchestrating expertise and relationships. The Leadership Quarterly, 13(6), 705–750. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1048-9843(02)00158-3
Ansell, C., & Gash, A. (2008). Collaborative governance in theory and practice. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 18(4), 543–571. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mum032
Bryson, J. M., Crosby, B. C., & Stone, M. M. (2015). Designing and implementing cross‐sector collaborations: Needed and challenging. Public Administration Review, 75(5), 647–663. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12432
Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational leadership (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Goleman, D. (1998). What makes a leader? Harvard Business Review, 76(6), 93–102.
Huxham, C., & Vangen, S. (2005). Managing to collaborate: The theory and practice of collaborative advantage. London: Routledge.
Heifetz, R. A., Grashow, A., & Linsky, M. (2009). The practice of adaptive leadership. Boston: Harvard Business Press.
Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Boston: Pitman.
Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership (4th ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Damanpour, F., & Aravind, D. (2012). Managerial innovation. Management and Organization Review, 8(2), 423–454.
Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2011). Creating shared value. Harvard Business Review, 89(1–2), 62–77.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
International Journals Publisher
Journal – Copyright Transfer Form
In consideration of publication in the ‘JOURNAL’___________________________________________
Of the article entitled ‘Article Title’________________________________________________
Corresponding Author’s Information:
Name:
E-mail:
Contact Number:
I herein assign Journals Pub full copyright in all forms in the above mentioned contribution/article, including any supplementary material that we may author in support to the contribution. The copyright transfer covers exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the contribution, including reprints, translations, photographic reproductions, microform, electronic form (offline, online), or any other reproductions of similar nature.
I/we declare that the above said contribution is not published anywhere either in parts or in whole except in the abstract form, in any journal or magazine for private and public circulation, and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
I/we warrant that the contribution is original and except the reference to the copyrighted work of the experts and is included only after the permission of the copyright holder, it does not contain any libelous statement that infringe any patent, copyright, trade mark, statuary right and property right of others.
I/we will not publish the above said contribution anywhere else without prior written permission of the publisher.
I/we also agree that the authorship of the article belong to the above mention author/authors.
Comments to the editors can be mentioned here
________________________________________________________________________________
Journal – Copyright Transfer Form
|
Author Names |
Author Signatures |
|
|
1) |
___________________________ |
___________________________ |
|
2) |
___________________________ |
___________________________ |
|
3) |
___________________________ |
___________________________ |
|
4) |
____________________________ |
____________________________ |
India Liaisoning Office: Office No-4, 1 Floor, CSC, Pocket-E, Mayur Vihar, Phase-2, New Delhi-110091 India
E: [email protected] || W: www.journalspub.com || T: +91 120 4347644 || M: 08130806555
