Modeling the effect of responsible research and innovation in quadruple helix innovation systems

• We put forth a first formal model of governance of responsible research and innovation (RRI).
• The model includes the role quadruple-helix actors play in shaping technology roadmapping (TR) agendas.
• The effect of civil society in quadruple-helix innovation systems is modeled using multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA).
• The model resolves the trade-offs posed by civil society organizations to drive science, technology, and innovation strategy.
• The model can accommodate future empirical evidence for the governance of RRI in complex innovation systems.

In this contribution, we put forth a model of responsible research and innovation (RRI) designed to generate science, technology, and innovation strategy and guide processes of technology innovation and technology roadmapping by firms that drive substantial and radical innovation. The model proposed is based on the current state-of-the-art in the area of RRI and puts forth a framework for strategic decision-making by firms embedded in quadruple-helix innovation systems. The main contribution of the article is theoretical and consists of a multicriteria decision analysis model that addresses how innovative firms can functionally and organically incorporate broader deliberation processes associated with responsible research and innovation involving actors of the public and private sectors as well as civil society organizations along the precepts of the quadruple-helix innovation framework.