Public Lecture


"The Complexities, Uncertainties and Ambiguities of Sustainable
Development Innovation: Implications for Canadian Business in a
Global Environment"

Dr. Jeremy Hall, Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary

Date & Time: Monday, 17th February 2003, 12:00 Noon - 1:00 p.m.

Location:  Room 112, Faculty of Management Building, 6152 Coburg Road

Influential academics such as Hart, Christensen and Senge have
identified social and environmental pressures as a new era for
'creative destruction', offering opportunities for new entrants and
potential threats for incumbent firms. While pioneering and
normative, these authors do not sufficiently describe the paradoxes
and risks of innovating for sustainable development. Drawing on
examples from agricultural biotechnology and the effects of climate
change on the energy sector, this presentation discusses the concept
of Sustainable Development Innovation (SDI) that attempts to explain
some of the difficulties of social and environmental innovation.
Sustainable development often involves a greater range of
stakeholders, while radical innovation is often based on pre-
paradigmatic science and technology.  These circumstances increase
complexity and ambiguity, and often generate greater scrutiny and
social resistance compared to regular forms of innovation.

Dr. Hall is a candidate for the Canada Research Chair in Risk
Management in the Faculty of Management. He holds a BSc (Psychology),
and MBA from Dalhousie University, and a DPhil from the University of
Sussex. He has been a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of
Tokyo, a lecturer at the University of Sussex, and most recently a
faculty member in the Haskayne School of Business, University of
Calgary.