A quantitative analysis of the fostering factors of responsible innovation with a special focus on imagination and women in tech

The search of technologies for the future of mankind is increasingly recognised as a powerful force for a sustainable life. This requires an implication of ethical, legal and social issues in the development process. Yet, despite the extensive stream of research on sustainable technology and innovation, we know little about fostering factors of responsible innovation. In this study, we investigate the roles of imagination and female technology workers for the generation of responsible innovation. We also explore the dimensions of responsible innovation. We examined this issue by conceptualising a responsible innovation index, which is applied in a quantitative analysis of two datasets with a scope of more than 650 objects. Our findings highlight that female tech workers especially strengthen the inclusion function of responsible innovation. However, the results also show that the imagination is influenced by socio-cultural circumstances. Our work constitutes a step forward to a more 'realistic' picture of supporting factors of responsible innovation.