Entrepreneurial Innovation Responsibility (EIR): Mitigating the Political Risks of Disruptive Innovation

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept with a long history in research literature and the classroom. However, CSR mainly pertains to established companies with extensive resources and influence in markets and communities. Startups may acquire this influence, but it is likely to be in the future. As entrepreneurs build their businesses, current concerns related to establishing their products and enterprises is of utmost consideration. The startups with the most upside for investment opportunities pursue entrepreneurial innovation. Yet, entrepreneurial innovation changes not only markets but society itself. For many entrepreneurs, they do not consider the ramifications and challenges society and government may bring as the status quo is disrupted. Therefore, in this paper, we offer Entrepreneurial Innovation Responsibility (EIR) as a concept tailored to the unique challenges startup entrepreneurs may face. EIR is grounded in entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility research and is a forward-looking approach to help entrepreneurs consider and plan for stakeholders who may resist the innovations they bring to the world. We provide a four-step process for mitigating these risks, as well as examples for illustrating how the process can be applied.