This book proposes a critical analysis of the new corporate responsibilities in a globalizing world. It is built around the creative and entrepreneurial power of the business firm and the new opportunities and challenges offered by science and technology, globalization and deregulation. Rather than focusing on tools, techniques and existing practices, it is the first to offer a conceptual and critical analysis of the new trend towards Corporate Social Responsibility. It argues that the legitimacy of the corporation will depend more and more on the contribution it wants to bring to our transition towards sustainable development.

Are the demands placed on 21st-century business leaders compatible with Christian values? Is it possible to act ethically and be socially responsible within a global system driven by economic demands? This important book explores the current conflict between spirituality and corporate leadership and asks challenging questions of business leaders and decision-makers.

Economic development is rooted in disruption, not in equilibrium. And a powerful engine of economic development is innovation; but is this innovation always for the common good? The dark side of the extraordinary dynamism of innovation lies precisely in its destructive power. If simply left to market forces, it could lead to social chaos and great human suffering. To face the challenges of our time, we must create the proper climate and culture to develop strong entrepreneurial drive. But, more than ever, we must give this entrepreneurial drive its ethical and societal dimensions. Responsible innovation means a more voluntary orientation towards the great problems of the 21st century, e.g. depletion of the planet's resources, rising inequality, and new scientific developments potentially threatening freedom, democracy and human integrity. We need to transform our ceaseless creativity into real progress for humankind. In this respect, the rapid development of social innovation opens the door for new methods and practices. In Responsible Innovation, Philippe de Woot challenges conventional ways of thinking. This book has the power to shift accepted norms in our ways of doing business.

Economic development is rooted in disruption, not in equilibrium. And a powerful engine of economic development is innovation; but is this innovation always for the common good? The dark side of the extraordinary dynamism of innovation lies precisely in its destructive power. If simply left to market forces, it could lead to social chaos and great human suffering. To face the challenges of our time, we must create the proper climate and culture to develop strong entrepreneurial drive. But, more than ever, we must give this entrepreneurial drive its ethical and societal dimensions. Responsible innovation means a more voluntary orientation towards the great problems of the 21st century, e.g. depletion of the planet's resources, rising inequality, and new scientific developments potentially threatening freedom, democracy and human integrity. We need to transform our ceaseless creativity into real progress for humankind. In this respect, the rapid development of social innovation opens the door for new methods and practices. In Responsible Innovation, Philippe de Woot challenges conventional ways of thinking. This book has the power to shift accepted norms in our ways of doing business.

The challenges of the 21st century are immense: implementing a more sustainable development model, maintaining markets and societies as open as possible, deploying entrepreneurial dynamism in the service of the common good, boosting employment, reindustrializing Western countries while promoting the development of emerging countries. ... How can we better focus our extraordinary creative capacity to meet the challenges ahead?If there is a key trend in our time, it is that of the progress of science and technology. This trend has become a steamroller, whatever the vagaries of history and economic conditions. It is enterprise that transforms, often as soon as they emerge, scientific knowledge and technologies into products and services. By mastering the methods and tools of techno-science, it has the power of knowledge behind its economic strategies. Techno-science constantly provides new opportunities and more powerful competitive weapons. Enterprise is therefore the main mediator between science and society. Yet is it an agent of progress?This essay explores the key role enterprise could play in the transformation of the economic system. By changing its culture, it can be a powerful tool to better meet the global challenges of our century. De Woot proposes that a spirit of enterprise, creativity and innovation are necessary responses to societal challenges. Although the current economic model is the source of major deviations, enterprise in the broadest sense can help correct many of them. From *problem* it can become *solution*.

The challenges of the 21st century are immense: implementing a more sustainable development model, maintaining markets and societies as open as possible, deploying entrepreneurial dynamism in the service of the common good, boosting employment, reindustrializing Western countries while promoting the development of emerging countries. ... How can we better focus our extraordinary creative capacity to meet the challenges ahead?If there is a key trend in our time, it is that of the progress of science and technology. This trend has become a steamroller, whatever the vagaries of history and economic conditions. It is enterprise that transforms, often as soon as they emerge, scientific knowledge and technologies into products and services. By mastering the methods and tools of techno-science, it has the power of knowledge behind its economic strategies. Techno-science constantly provides new opportunities and more powerful competitive weapons. Enterprise is therefore the main mediator between science and society. Yet is it an agent of progress?This essay explores the key role enterprise could play in the transformation of the economic system. By changing its culture, it can be a powerful tool to better meet the global challenges of our century. De Woot proposes that a spirit of enterprise, creativity and innovation are necessary responses to societal challenges. Although the current economic model is the source of major deviations, enterprise in the broadest sense can help correct many of them. From *problem* it can become *solution*.

This book proposes a critical analysis of the new corporate responsibilities in a globalizing world. It is built around the creative and entrepreneurial power of the business firm and the new opportunities and challenges offered by science and technology, globalization and deregulation. Rather than focusing on tools, techniques and existing practices, it is the first to offer a conceptual and critical analysis of the new trend towards Corporate Social Responsibility. It argues that the legitimacy of the corporation will depend more and more on the contribution it wants to bring to our transition towards sustainable development.