Spread and conditions of Social Innovation Research in Austria in the field of Social Sciences

Abstract

This paper scrutinises the spread and the conditions of social innovation research in Austria in social sciences. Although the empirical results are inconclusive, social innovation is definitely not a marginal topic in social sciences in Austria. More than 80% of the responding social scientists deal with social innovation at different levels of intensity. It also seems that social innovation works well for the overall self-representation of the universities. The construct of social entrepreneurship has probably contributed most to anchoring the notion of social innovation in the higher education sector in Austria, especially in teaching. Although some curricula and courses are more confined to traditional business school topics, some transcend the narrow business focus towards sociological and political approaches. The academic embedding of social innovation in Austria, however, is still hampered by structural factors. Our findings show a lack of both tangible and intangible support measures.