Mission-oriented innovation: perspectives for the public sector based on literature review

The construct 'mission-oriented innovation ("MOI")' emerges in diverse contexts with different approaches. This work aims to understand this construct in the academic context, and to this end a scoping review was carried out on the Scopus database. The result reveals a lack of a systematized concept of MOI, but distinct conceptions about it were identified; they were categorized according to the emphasis given: Research, Development, and Innovation strategy; innovation process; open innovation; and target (e.g., wicked problems). The authors concluded that MOI is a transdisciplinary field; the article proposes a concept of IOM, highlighting the uniqueness that distinguishes it from other types of innovation: IOM requires the congregation of different actors around missions. While recognizing the importance of private sector participation, the research suggested that MOI has a strong adherence to public sector innovation, as it acts as a coordinator and integrator of knowledge to address the important challenges of the current century.