The significant progress in scientific research and innovation has led to the need for a new paradigm to legitimise the innovation process in society and politics. The European Union, with the Horizon 2020 framework program and Horizon Europe, institutionalises this change by defining the concept of responsible research and innovation (RRI), aiming at greater inclusiveness and sustainability in the research and innovation processes. This paper aimed to present an agent-based model (ABM) to simulate the dynamics between the different actors that cooperate within networks during the innovation process, taking the inclinations toward RRI practices into account. The different types of agent, their characteristics, and the different strategies that they follow have been formulated within the Horizon 2020 project I AM RRI-Webs of Innovation Value Chains (IVCs) of Additive Manufacturing (AM) under consideration of RRI. Besides, some experiments are reported to validate the model, ensuring its rigor and making our model a useful tool for policymakers, assisting them in defining strategic guidelines for disseminating and encouraging RRI best practices and defining the critical factors of the innovative cooperative process.

New technology-based firms (NTBFs) present high levels of information asymmetry since knowledge base, the intangibility of assets, and appropriability issues are particularly pronounced. Investors experiment with difficulties in evaluating the quality of NTBFs and look into insights representing the venture's promises and outlooks, and NTBFs need to face limited financing opportunities. Therefore, information asymmetries and moral hazards may influence the financing system of NTBFs. Based on the signaling theory, we propose a configurative approach built on five accessible signals (founders’ education and work experiences, property rights, alliances, and size) to identify combinations of signals conducive to the NTBF reaching a first financial round. By adopting a configurative approach through the qualitative comparative analysis, we advance our understanding of the intricate dynamics between NTBFs and investors, shedding light on the complexity and interplay of various factors influencing the financing outcomes.