Innovation And Social Networks For Creating Social Value

Abstract

In an increasingly digitized world and after the disruption of the covid-19 pandemic, the internet and social networks are becoming the central backbone of interactions between individuals, organizations, and governments worldwide in general and defending the democratic values in Ukraine in particular. The influence capacity of social networks on creativity and innovation has grown in recent years and has been an objective of the study. This paper analyses the interaction between innovation and social networks from a balanced assessment, considering opportunities and risks. The interaction between social networks and innovation could redesign the value creation process. The proliferation of social media platforms coincides with the expansion of the open innovation paradigm and has demonstrated its efficiency in facilitating solutions in different fields such as science, statistics, engineering, production and the generation of social policies. On the other hand, risks have to be analyzed and mitigated. The social networks and search engines could have become a proxy for organizing and accessing information and knowledge on a large scale; however, evidence points out how the fake data and concentration could suffocate innovation. The research develops a theoretical framework to analyze how the organizational structure of social networks could influence the knowledge absorption capability and innovation; what is the influence of the social networks on creativity and innovation; and their role as drivers to create the social value. The results of the research could be practically valuable for many stakeholders: Chief Innovation Officers and Communication Managers, Teams responsible for Stakeholders Engagement and Open Innovation programmes, Policy Makers, and the Scientific Community interested in developing empirical research on the topic, as well as citizens to understand their role as change-makers contributing to developing Innovation and Creativity.