This timely book takes an insightful look at rethinking innovation and how lessons can be learnt from what is a major turning point in our contemporary societies: the urgent need to reduce the use or consumption of certain substances and technologies due to the dangers they pose to our environments and current way of life. Using theoretical reflection and empirical work in a broad range of sectors including agriculture, food, health, religion, energy, packaging, markets and digital technology, eminent scholars utilise new perspectives to enrich our understanding of innovation processes and how these can be transformed.
New Horizons for Innovation Studies provides a deep dive into what our production and consumption processes are, how they could be innovated differently and how those innovations could interrogate social science concepts and in particular science and technology studies. Chapters explore key case studies and topics for innovation studies, such as the reduced use of antibiotics and pesticides, car-free cities, bans on plastic use and reducing meat consumption. Further, the book challenges both the partial and complete withdrawal of certain substances and technologies that currently sit at the heart of our contemporary lifestyles using global case studies to illustrate the practices involved and the emergence of alternatives as well as the potential resistance, risks and outcomes.