Ambivalence towards innovation: the social perception of risks and benefits associated with innovation in spanish society

Innovation studies have paid little attention to the public perceptions of innovation and to the meaning associated with innovation. This article makes a contribution to the sociology of innovation using the concept of ambivalence. The main goal is to analyze in detail risks and benefits attributed to innovation. The empirical data are based on face-to-face survey representative of the Spanish population. The perceptions of the risks and benefits associated with innovation are used to elaborate a typology of citizens by using factor and cluster analyses. In addition, knowledge on innovation and pro-innovative attitudes of interviewees are used to understand how social, economic and cultural factors influence public perception of innovation. Conclusions highlight that ambivalence is a key element to understand the collective representation of innovation.