The grand challenges that humanity faces—poverty, inequality, hunger, conflict, climate change, deforestation, and pandemics, among others—hinder the progress of sustainable development. These issues can be addressed only by fundamental changes in behavior, as well as in the modes and processes of production and of business more generally. In this paper we will develop the concept of responsible innovation and discuss the potential and limitations of various models of corporate governance with regard to responsible innovation. Our analysis imports from the political sciences theoretical and empirical insights into how alternative forms of participative and reflexive governance can help address the social and environmental challenges that society faces. The paper thereby offers examples of innovative corporate governance that can help to generate innovations that do good and avoid harm. We also illustrate the governance challenges and the role of responsible innovation in the advent of the new coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).
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