Although we have discussed the outcomes of innovation in the last chapter, we have not had any discussion so far about how innovative activities in the public sector are associated with ethics. Ethics is perhaps more related to outcomes, for example an innovation may have unethical outcomes. Ethics can also play a role during an innovation process, for example policymakers may use unethical tools while implementing an innovation. However, despite the importance of ethics for different aspects of innovation (e.g., process and outcomes), it is unfortunate that innovation scholarship does not pay much attention to the link between ethics and innovative activities. This chapter highlights some critical reflections on the links between innovations and ethics, including discussing what, how, and why questions, some lessons from public and private organizations, and examples of ethical issues that may affect innovative activities and decisions to make innovations.

Innovation began to emerge as its own field of study in the 1960s, but it did not garner attention from scholars across a wide range of disciplines until the later years of the twentieth century. Recently, experts in fields ranging from economics to social sciences to business studies have explored innovation’s role as a driver of growth and social change, and innovation is now widely considered central to economic growth and development. Outside of academia, policymakers, business leaders, and even the public at large have increasingly embraced innovation. Innovation policies figure high in the policy agendas of many countries, and “innovative nations” and “knowledge-based economies” are becoming keywords in today’s economic policy manifestos.

This chapter examines the broader stance of emerging economies on innovation. It accounts for progress made by emerging markets at the macro level using the Global Innovation Index, and at the firm-level, presents innovative firms by rank according to the European Union industry scoreboard. We conclude with a call for policy coordination with stakeholders, the sine qua non for a promising innovation ecosystem.