Balancing Anticipatory and Deliberative Governance in Public–Private Partnerships for Responsible Innovation: The role of corporate innovation capabilities

David Larkin, Lena Jaspersen, Krsto Pandza

Organization Studies · 2025 · Volume 46 · Issue 9

Abstract

Accelerating technological change is expanding the role of corporations in public–private partnerships for responsible innovation. While existing research emphasizes the importance of deliberative processes for responsible innovation, little is known about how corporate innovation capabilities impact such processes. Through an in-depth case study of Quayside, a Canadian smart city project, we examine how established corporate innovation capabilities shape public deliberation for responsible innovation. Our findings expose intricate challenges that arise when public entities grant corporations significant authority over innovation processes intended to be deliberative. We critically assess the effectiveness of widely embraced approaches to open innovation and human-centric design, showing that, without reflexivity, these capabilities can give rise to an imbalance between two critical modes of governance for responsible innovation: anticipatory and deliberative. Corporate self-referentiality and business interests drive anticipatory governance, reinforcing corporate expertise and promoting the instrumental use of resources and capabilities to engage citizens as consumers. When corporations lack the reflexivity needed to align this approach with expectations for meaningful public participation in a democratic context, this can derail rather than inform responsible innovation processes.

Keywords

anticipatory governance, deliberative democracy, organizational capabilities, public–private partnerships, responsible innovation

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