This publication develops a typology of how “success” in artificial intelligence (AI) is defined and operationalised through innovation awards within the AI innovation ecosystem, with a particular focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Innovation awards are not treated as neutral or purely symbolic instruments, but as influential evaluative mechanisms that translate future-oriented visions of AI into concrete criteria shaping which technologies, business models, and organisational forms are recognised and rewarded.
Methodologically, the study analyses 91 award-related documents published between 2023 and 2025, using a mixed-methods approach that combines lexicometric clustering with qualitative discourse analysis.
The findings identify six interconnected dimensions through which awards define success: institutional, market, societal, ethical, governance, and environmental success. While these dimensions coexist, the analysis reveals a clear dominance of market-oriented and institutional criteria, privileging scalability, commercial readiness, administrative conformity, and measurable impact. By contrast, societal, ethical, governance, and environmental considerations remain marginal and inconsistently integrated into award practices.
Although environmental and societal dimensions of success are central to European policy discourse on trustworthy and sustainable AI, they receive limited emphasis in innovation awards. This risks misaligning innovation incentives with Europe’s broader commitments to public value, inclusion, and sustainability. Market-centric evaluation further tends to advantage actors with existing access to capital, administrative capacity, and institutional legitimacy, while disadvantaging early-stage, socially driven, or resource-constrained SMEs.
This publication can be downloaded from Zenodo. The publication hasn’t yet been reviewed and approved by the European Commission.
Authors: Molly Newell, Charis Papaevangelou, Loredana Bucseneanu, Alexandros Minotakis, Nikos Smyrnaios, and Lucie Loubere
