Values-based barriers and good practices in sustainability-oriented innovation management

Despite growing awareness of and interest in the role values play in innovation, a systematic overview and classification of recurrent barriers to the integration of stakeholder values in innovation activities are still lacking. A comprehensive overview of good practices to facilitate the management of values for sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI) is also missing. Due to conceptual confusion, different value frameworks and unsystematic evidence about effective practices, it is still difficult to manage values for SOI. The present study aims to bridge these gaps by gathering evidence from a comprehensive literature review and from expert interviews with 17 innovation specialists. It identifies 21 barriers and 28 good practices and classifies them according to the integrative, generative and directive functions of values. A conceptual model is proposed to explain how managing stakeholder values across the different dimensions of responsible innovation practice can facilitate SOI.