Understanding social innovation as an innovation process: Applying the innovation journey model

Abstract The innovation journey is a process model distinguishing between the initiation, developmental and implementation/termination period of innovations; it looks at drivers and barriers, like innovation managers, investors, setbacks, adaptation, infrastructure. We operationalize this model to apply it to the process of social innovation. Eighty-two cases are re-analysed in a secondary analysis using qualitative comparative analysis to assess how social innovations develop and to investigate if they resemble the ‘innovation journey’ of innovations in technology/business. The results show that six combinations of seven elements of the innovation journey model have the highest chance to result in adoption of the social innovation. Yet, while differing paths lead to similar outcomes (equifinality), success is dependent on contingent factors: not ‘anything goes’. The implication for practitioners is to study the six successful combinations and steer their social innovation initiatives towards a combination that fits best with their own practice.