The Responsible Innovation - Entrepreneurship Nexus

This article connects the concept of responsible innovation to entrepreneurship research. To unite the two domains, we illustrate responsible innovation as a composition of three aspects - designing innovation, normative ends and collaborative reflection - and connect these with entrepreneurship research. We furthermore outline a theoretical framework of how to integrate normative ends and collaborative reflection into the entrepreneurial process which we understand as the design process transforming opportunity into innovation. The article emphasizes the potential of collaboration to take normative aspects into account making the entrepreneurial process more inclusive and outcome more sustainable and societal desirable by moderating the process. Due to its epistemological interest, the article also contributes to the discussion on the operationalization of responsible innovation and its relation to the concept of sustainable development.