The New Innovators’ Dilemma:  Why we urgently need a Code of Ethics for Innovation Managers

What the paper says

In the past two decades, innovation has become the defining logic of business and policy. Every organisation now claims to innovate responsibly, sustainably, or ethically. Yet, when compared with established professions such as accounting, engineering, or project management, innovation management stands out for what it lacks: any formalised code of ethics. Innovation managers operate in spaces of uncertainty and asymmetrical power, often shaping technologies and systems long before society has understood their implications. The consequences of this ethical vacuum in Innovation Management (IM) are increasingly profound. The question, then, is no longer whether innovation should be ethical, but how ethics can be meaningfully institutionalised within innovation practice. This Letter proposes that innovation management urgently requires a formal code of ethics to guide conduct, clarify values, and legitimise the practice of innovation. It situates this argument within three long-standing ethical traditions that address the uncertainty of technological progress: the Precautionary Principle, which emphasises restraint in the face of risk; Anticipatory Ethics, which seeks to foresee moral challenges before they arise; and Responsible Innovation, which calls for alignment between technological progress and societal values. Together, these frameworks provide a robust theoretical foundation for the development of a hybrid model to provide ethical foresight into the evolving profession of innovation management.