Identifying the Impact of Stakeholder Empowerment During the Social Innovation Journey

ABSTRACT Social innovation has been widely studied as an approach to mitigate wicked problems and their associated grand challenges. Even so, there are a myriad of location‐specific hurdles to successful formation, design, implementation, and scaling that require the expertise and integration of local partner knowledge. In this regard, there is a dearth of research identifying the impact of such stakeholder empowerment when potential solutions, ideas, and projects are forming—particularly in an international context. To address this gap, we used a qualitative case study approach with semi‐structured interviews to follow projects through the initial, developmental, and implementation/termination periods of the social innovation journey. Sample projects include solar power technology for off‐grid rural populations, the development of a mobile app to facilitate the movement of time‐sensitive goods, and the development of a compostable toilet to replace pit latrines. The findings indicate the stakeholder empowerment criteria of (1) collective action and (2) the reconfiguration of social relations are most impactful during the initial idea gestation component of the journey and serve as an early signal of project survival or termination. In addition, they are also most impactful during the setbacks and criteria shift components, wherein local partners signal practical constraints from institutional voids that must be addressed alternatively. This research provides a foundation for future studies on the early formation of social innovations and their likelihood of survival with stakeholder empowerment.