The Social Innovation Potential of the Northern Hungarian Region

Abstract

In the last two decades, a new direction has appeared in the study of innovation processes in the literature. Researchers are paying more and more attention to social innovation beside the classical Schumpeterian approach. Social innovation is new solutions (product, technology, organizational solution) that can effectively meet market needs that are not or hardly met on a market basis, innovation can lead to new or more advanced skills / relationships, and contribute to a more efficient use of resources. However, there is no uniform definition of the concept. The issue of social innovation is particularly important in the case of the Northern Hungary region, because it can bring hope for some peripheral areas and a new approach to solving problems. High technological innovation potential and performance do not necessarily go hand in hand with high social innovation activity, so in the case of peripheral regions there is a hope for social innovations even in the absence of technological innovations.