Exploring Innovation Failures: Case study of the Automated Makhana Processing Machine

Innovations are seldom runaway successes. Most of the time Innovations either fail to diffuse widelyor fail to diffuse at all. Much has been theorized in this regard. One of the key elements in thediffusion process is the presence of a supportive infrastructure and suitable social and political regimesto propagate the innovations. Often these aspects are beyond the control of private organizations,requiring massive resource investment and political support. However despite the above, innovatorsparticularly in the public research systems continue to innovate without regard to an adequateunderstanding of the contextual environment within which they expect their innovation to operate. Wepresent the case of one such innovation failure introduced into a regional value chain in India for anagricultural commodity Makhana (Foxnut/ Gorgon nut). We find that innovation in general within theMakhana value chain is moderated by political and social factors. Long centuries of stability havereified exploitative actor networks with very few contestations taking place. Also the types ofinnovations being introduced by the agricultural researchers require too much systemic supportpreventing a smooth transition process. This is as much a failure of the imagination as it is the result ofa collective notion of the archetype of a ―etchnological intervention‖. Studies of innovation processeswithin agricultural value chains of developing countries are rare and we hope that the findings of ourstudy can be used to create improved mechanisms for innovation generation, resulting in lower rates offailure and better outcomes for all actors within such value chains.

Exploring Innovation Failures: Case study of the Automated Makhana Processing Machine Keywords:

Innovation , Agriculture , Social and Political Issues , Value Chain