The Creative Process for Digital Social Innovation in the Context of Migrant Integration

Abstract: Background: Existing literature has declared migrant integration as social stress putting communities under pressure. Dynamics of social innovations and digital technologies can provide solutions to the pressing matter of migrant integration, yet the academic literature is obscure about processes that organisations employ in this matter. Purpose: This study aims to investigate how the process of digital social innovation unfolds in organisations. The main purpose of this study seeks to answer the research question: How do organisations undertake the process of digital social innovations in relation to migrant integration? Method: To answer the research question, a qualitative research approach was chosen. Multiple case study was carried out, and the empirical data was gathered through semi-structured interviews. The content of the company websites and other additional material were used as a complementary source of information. The scope of participants was delimited to Sweden and Germany due to a high level of immigration in these countries. After data collection, the analysis was carried out in an abductive manner. Conclusion: The findings showed that the social innovation process is intertwined with the context where the actor acts as a mediator between the two. Two models were combined to gain both theoretical and practical insights without excluding one another. A suggested digital social innovation process model was then introduced in pursuit of providing a model that could be used in academia to annex scattered literature and to use the model in practice as a foundation for the innovation process.