Innovative products and services for sustainable societal development: Current reality, future potential and challenges

This special volume originates from the International Conference on Innovation and Management held at University of Vaasa in Finland in 2014. Talks with the key note speaker and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Cleaner Production led to an idea to develop a special volume about innovative products and services according to the themes of the conference. Thus, the purpose of this special volume is to explore different viewpoints of how innovative products and services may support sustainable societal development. There are five thematic areas with papers that describe new advancements in different industries and organizations. The included papers cover relevant theoretical background and present case studies and practical results. This special volume shows that great progresses are being made in different thematic areas but also that there are so much more waiting to be done for sustainable societal development. This volume indicates that cross-disciplinary approach is truly needed to achieve societal sustainable development. This requires people to change their mindsets and genuinely co-operate towards better future.