Innovation involves some degree of social responsibility. There is, without a doubt, legitimate interest on the part of businesses because they have to face a fundamental challenge of trying to translate their differentiation into valid competitiveness for repeat clients. However, beyond this corporative necessity, innovation is a contribution to our society in terms of attitude, process, and results.
There is a shared basic attitude in the examples we present here. It is the will to search for new solutions, a strength in research, creativity, or laterality, a desire to anticipate necessities not expressed by clients, or simply the practical application of years of scientific exploration. Innovation as an attitude is a manifestation of social and corporative vitality; it is a sign of identity of awakened societies that are forced to construct the future by means of new solutions.
Innovation is a process of practical application of new knowledge or of new ways to combine knowledge already acquired. But what underlines innovation is its radical practicality. If the proposal is of public value but it does not reach the markets nor the users, there is no innovation. In this sense, the testimonies collected in this publication show the dedication to the practical transformation of a new type of ideas. This does not concern publications nor reflections, this deals with concrete cases of the practical implementation of scientific, technological, or market research. But behind all of these experiences, there is a process that makes them more tangible to users or concrete clients.
Finally, there is the concept of innovation as results. Innovation is a process that does not always hit the mark. Moreover, risk co-exists with innovation. There are no significant results without significant risk. For that reason, when businesses such as those presented in this document decided to take that risk, they did it in the search for results that would make the entire process reasonable. Said results, in corporate terms, should lead to a differentiation that translates into its market position. The capacity for risk and for dedication is appreciated. A society that does not responsibly risk in order to innovate does not have serious options for a prosperous future.
Societies need references. The companies introduced in this book are references for innovation and social responsibility in Galicia. In addition, they are an example as well as an invitation to others to take risks, to leave the comfort zone, to search for radical implementation of new ideas. It is a great satisfaction to have these references in Galicia and to be able to give them the social protection that is more than justified, which is what this publication is intended to do. I want to sincerely thank them for their efforts, their capacity to cross frontiers and to question orthodoxy and, especially thank them for their innovative business projects. I am convinced that their example will animate other companies to follow the path of innovation.