Constructing a social innovation-related outcomes benchmarking index: A comparative diagnostic approach applied to european countries
Technology in Society, cilt.89, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 89
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2026.103573
- Dergi Adı: Technology in Society
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Periodicals Index Online, Compendex, EBSCO Education Source, Geobase, INSPEC, Political Science Complete, Political Science Abstract (IPSA), Education Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Composite indicators, Country-level benchmarking, Innovation measurement, Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM), Social innovation-related outcomes
- Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
The measurement of social innovation remains challenging because of conceptual plurality, differences across levels of analysis, and limited agreement on comparable indicators. This study develops the Social Innovation-Related Outcomes Benchmarking Index (SIROBI) for 29 European countries over the 2016–2020 period. Rather than measuring social innovation directly, SIROBI compares national patterns across four outcome domains: environmental sustainability, health and well-being, institutional integrity and perceived safety, and equality and inclusion. These domains are complemented by common indicators of institutional, knowledge-based, and civic-cultural enabling conditions. Country rankings are generated using ALPAS, RAWEC, and L-MABAC and combined through the Borda count. Sensitivity is assessed using alternative aggregation rules, D-CRITIC and LOPCOW weighting, and Principal Component Analysis. Cluster analysis is used to identify similarities in country profiles, while rank-divergence analysis examines how SIROBI positions compare with the Global Innovation Index and the European Innovation Scoreboard. The results reveal relatively stable country rankings alongside substantial variation across the four pillars. Rankings are also highly consistent across alternative aggregation and weighting specifications. SIROBI shows positive but incomplete alignment with the two conventional innovation benchmarks, suggesting that conventional innovation performance and socially relevant outcomes are related but not interchangeable. SIROBI therefore offers a transparent country-level diagnostic for identifying differences in socially relevant outcomes, pillar-level imbalances, and patterns that may remain less visible in conventional innovation benchmarking.