On 4 March 2025, we held an informative webinar on Social Innovation: Creating Social Value for Social Integration in Times of Change. 

We were pleased to welcome Ju Liu, Associate Professor in the Department of Urban Studies at Malmö University, Sweden. Ju Liu holds a PhD in innovation studies. Her main research and teaching areas include organisation and innovation, innovation and sustainability, and globalisation and innovation. She adopts the innovation system approach and organisational perspective to study how organisational factors and regional institutions influence organisations’ innovation behaviour.

Ju Liu introduced us to various theoretical perspectives to approach social integration projects. In particular, we focused on the Yin Yang approach, which suggests that balance is not static but dynamic. Ju Liu applied the theory to the case study of the Sällbo project, managed by Helsingborgshem (Sweden). We reflected on the following:

• Integration is not about eliminating differences but creating synergy between them;
• Social value creation thrives when tensions are harnessed as creative forces, not suppressed;
• Social value is created by balancing stability and change;
• We can embrace problems and turn them into social value.

Download the PowerPoint slides and watch the recording below.

Additional reading

• From “Onion” to “Ocean”: Paradox and Change in National Cultures, Tony Fang – Download
• Yin Yang: A New Perspective on Culture, Tony Fang – Download
• Toward an integrative framework of indigenous research: The geocentric implications of Yin-Yang Balance, Peter Ping Li – Download
• Global implications of the indigenous epistemological system from the east: How to apply Yin-Yang balancing to paradox management, Peter Ping Li – Download