Successful eco‐innovators: Exploring the association between open inbound knowledge strategies and the performance of eco‐innovative firms

The main purpose of this paper is to analyse the association between open inbound knowledge strategies and the performance of eco‐innovative firms in the food and beverage industry. We propose a mixed framework based on the eco‐innovation literature and the open innovation approach. We consider the characteristics in a traditional sector based upon a resource‐based perspective. Three types of firms are distinguished in terms of their sales growth in the Spanish food industry from the least to the most successful eco‐innovators. Using multinomial logistic regression models, it is shown that the diversity of collaborators (breadth of external sources of knowledge) and joint adoption of product and process eco‐innovations are positively associated with the probability of achieving high sales growth. Moreover, we find an inverted U‐shaped relationship between the breadth of the external search and firm performance, but only for the group of the most successful firms. Moreover, operational flexibility, knowledge‐based capabilities and company size are also positively related to the group of successful eco‐innovators.     

Sustainability‐oriented capabilities for eco‐innovation: Meeting the regulatory,technology, and market demands

Despite consensus in the literature that regulation, technology push, and market pull drive eco‐innovation (EI), evidence remains limited on the diverse firm capabilities needed to boost EI. Building on the natural‐resource‐based view of the firm and the EI literature, this paper posits that firms need to renew and realign their capabilities, and ultimately develop distinctive sustainability‐oriented capabilities, in order to meet the rapidly changing regulatory, technology, and market demands. Results of the analysis, based on a survey of U.K. firms, reveal that EIs are more likely to arise when firms (a) build capabilities on voluntary self‐regulation (i.e., executive driven environmental management system and corporate social responsibility) because such organizational capabilities allow them to address increasing regulatory pressures; (b) invest in environmental research and development (i.e., eco‐R&D)—instead of generic research and development—because it provides them with the relevant and specific technological capabilities to tackle technology shifts towards sustainability; and (c) develop capabilities in green market sensing as such capabilities allow them to address green consumption needs.     

Why does eco‐innovation differ in service firms? Some insights from Spain

Although environmental innovation studies have traditionally focused on manufacturing firms, the distinctive features of eco‐innovation activities carried out by service firms require special attention. Using the Spanish Commumity Innovation Survey (CIS), this paper determines which are the main drivers of undertaking eco‐innovation and investigates the similarities and differences between service and manufacturing firms within the five sub‐groups of services (supplier dominated, scale intensive physical networks, scale intensive information networks, science‐based, and others). The results confirm that the main eco‐innovation triggers are similar—technological push factor orientation (internal R&D and persistence) and firm size—while the impact of market pull factors and public environmental legislation differ within the services sub‐groups. In addition, we find a high degree of heterogeneity within service firms. In contrast to traditional service firms, those in the groups involving R&D activities, information networks, and scale‐intensive physical networks exhibit intensive eco‐innovation performance and show a high level of green indicators.     

Eco‐innovation and firm growth in the circular economy: Evidence from European small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises

As the circular economy (CE) concept gains growing popularity among consumers and producers, small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) increasingly look for ways to reorganize their offering and operations to integrate into the CE. This study examines the impact of (a) circular eco‐innovations and (b) external funding available for CE activities on the growth of European SMEs using a data set of 5,100 SMEs across 28 European countries in 2016. Findings reveal that a significant threshold investment (i.e., higher than 10% of revenues) into circular eco‐innovations is required for SMEs to benefit from investing into the CE. Moreover, the majority of circular eco‐innovations fail to boost the growth rates of SMEs, with the exception of investments into eco‐design innovations. Although traditional forms of debt and grant finance targeted to CE activities are found to have no or negative impact on the growth of SMEs, equity finance (i.e., angel and venture capital investments) contributes positively to their growth. The study offers insights into the lower levels of SME engagement in the CE as well as policy implications for improving engagement.     

Environmental management capabilities for a “circular eco‐innovation”

At a micro level, eco‐innovation marks a transition towards a circular economy (CE), and standardised routines and controls are being implemented by businesses to introduce eco‐innovative processes and thus a circular business model. Eco‐innovation applied to a circular model implies changes to companies' environmental management and accounting practices used to manage natural resources. In this context, this study analyses and measures formal and informal environmental management systems, such as certification standards and other management and environmental accounting procedures used in eco‐innovation and the CE within the dynamic capabilities theoretical framework. The study also investigates the cause‐and‐effect relationship between firms' “circular eco‐innovation” and environmental capabilities using partial least squares structural equation modelling and tests it using a sample of Spanish companies. This study offers new knowledge about the interposition of business eco‐innovation and CE‐related activities introduced by firms from the dynamic capabilities perspective.     

Innovation intensity,creativity enhancement,and eco‐innovation strategy: The roles of customer demand and environmental regulation

This study develops a contingency framework to investigate how and when innovation intensity and creativity enhancement affect a firm's eco‐innovation strategy by drawing upon the perspectives of the resource‐based view and stakeholder theory. This investigation aims to explore whether firms with high innovation intensity and creativity enhancement really pursue eco‐innovation strategy. Our examination is based on a sample of 2,126 manufacturing firms. By using a hierarchical regression, the results reveal that the effects of innovation intensity and creativity enhancement on eco‐innovation strategy depend on customer demand and environmental regulation. Specifically, customer demand positively moderates the effects of innovation intensity and creativity enhancement on eco‐innovation strategy, whereas existing regulation has a weaker effect on the relationship between innovation activities and eco‐innovation strategy than that of anticipated regulation.     

Implementation of Sustainability Management and Company Size: A Knowledge‐Based View

Implementing corporate sustainability strategies requires knowledge and application of sustainability management tools. While much progress has been made in developing such tools in both small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and large companies, the literature claims company size positively affects application. However, the role of knowledge as a mediating factor has not yet been investigated. Using the knowledge‐based view as a theoretical underpinning, this paper draws on empirical survey data from SMEs and large companies in Germany. It analyzes how company size affects the degree of knowledge and application of sustainability management tools. Even though the results reaffirm that SMEs know and apply significantly less tools, company size does not influence the share of tools applied once they are known. Thus, knowledge is identified as a key difference between SMEs and large companies as well as an important mediator to promote sustainability management. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Survival of the fittest: The impact of eco‐certification and reputation on firm performance

Owing to the increased trend for organic products and the concept of sustainable development, firms must invest in valuable and unique resources to achieve long‐term success and gain competitive advantages. Building on insights from the resource‐based view and natural‐resource‐based view of the firm, the study focuses on the contribution of corporate reputation and eco‐certification as intangible influences on corporate performance. Duration analysis is applied on a sample of 1,572 German wineries over the period 1994 to 2017. The results indicate that individual reputation and eco‐certification have a statistically significant and positively impact on corporate performance, whereas there is no clear evidence of this relationship for collective reputation. In addition, especially those firms with high individual reputation benefit most from eco‐certification. These results are robust across different parametric and semiparametric model estimations.     

An analysis of environmental sustainability in small & medium‐sized enterprises: Patterns and trends

One of the greatest challenges facing the world today is climate change. The need to consistently advance with environmentally sustainable practices in today's businesses is crucial, and businesses are demanded to be more environmentally sustainable every day. This study conducts an analysis of the literature on small and medium‐sized enterprises' (SMEs) environmental sustainability by carefully examining 122 studies from 58 journals published from 2013 to 2019. We investigate the trends in drivers and barriers of sustainability adoption to inform both SMEs managers and policymakers. Our results also classify the reviewed studies on the basis of their methodologies and show the distribution of studies across industry sectors and locations in order to set directions for future research on sustainability practices of SMEs.     

Circular economy to enhance sustainability of small and medium‐sized enterprises

The circular economy (CE) represents a major paradigm shift of moving from the concepts of linear to circular supply chains across multiple industries. Although some aspects of CE adoption within industrial supply chains have been researched extensively (particularly addressing challenges of design, implementation, and operations), the research that relates CE practices with sustainability performance to reveal the current state of CE practices within small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) is scant. The aim of this research was to facilitate SMEs to achieve greater sustainability through CE implementation. This research addresses three research questions—How are CE fields of action related to sustainability performance? What are the issues, challenges, and opportunities of adopting CE in SMEs? And what key strategies, resources, and competences facilitate effective implementation of CE in SMEs? This study adopts a mixed method approach (qualitative and quantitative) using survey research, focus group, and case studies; 130 randomly selected SMEs within the Midlands of the United Kingdom have been surveyed, and the responses are analysed using statistical tools along with findings from focus groups and case studies. The study reveals that all CE fields of action (take, make, distribute, use, and recover) of SMEs are correlated to economic performance, but only make and use are related to environmental and social performance. The study further derives strategies, resources, and competences for achieving sustainability across all the CE field of actions. Additionally, this research reveals the issues and challenges, strategies, resources, and competences required for implementing CE in SMEs.     

Energy eco‐innovations for sustainable development: Exploring organizational strategic capabilities through an energy cultures framework

This article reports on research on energy eco‐innovation using case studies of firms. Positioning energy efficiency changes in an organization as “eco‐innovations,” the paper examines the firm‐level resources involved for these to be successful. To identify these resources, the energy cultures (EC) framework, an organizing tool to understand energy behaviour, is drawn on. From an analysis of 142 case studies of successful business and energy change, three models are developed. It is found that the EC framework (consisting of norms, material culture, and practices) makes explicit key resources involved in developing energy eco‐innovations. The findings show that for an eco‐innovation capability, there is a need to align the physical resources with intangible resources to lead to learning and knowledge that, in turn, needs to be aligned with the firm strategies. This research has implications for developing company strategy and practice to drive energy eco‐innovations.     

民营中小企业可持续发展与制度创新

作为我国民营企业的重要组成部分,民营中小企业的发展状况对我国国民经济全局产生重要影响。对于广大民营中小企业而言,制度对其健康有序发展意义重大。文章阐述了民营中小企业几大突出特征,全面阐述了民营中小企业可持续发展与制度创新策略。     

Microfoundations of companies' dynamic capabilities for environmentally sustainable innovation: Case study insights from high‐tech innovation in science‐based companies

To achieve sustainable development, companies are increasingly putting an emphasis on the creation and the promotion of environmentally sustainable innovations. Environmentally sustainable innovation often involves a significant shift in a new strategic direction. This paper studies this shift from a dynamic capabilities perspective and aims to identify the microfoundations of science‐based companies' dynamic capabilities for high‐tech environmentally sustainable innovations. It investigates the development of high‐tech environmentally sustainable innovations in two distinctive science‐based companies. To scholars, this study provides an in‐depth process analysis, over time, of how and why microfoundations of dynamic capabilities influence the development of a science‐based company's high‐tech environmentally sustainable innovations. To practitioners in science‐based firms, this process study can function as a frame of reference, enabling the tailoring of a strategy for high‐tech environmentally sustainable innovation.     

Supply chain collaboration and eco‐innovations: An institutional perspective from China

This study explores the impact of supply chain collaboration on eco‐innovations in the context of 220 Chinese manufacturing supplier firms involved in global supply chain networks. It investigates how supplier and customer collaborations help firms to enhance product eco‐innovations, and/or process eco‐innovations, and how the institutional context (i.e., regulatory, market, and community pressures) influences these relationships. The structural equation modeling approach is used to analyze the data captured from medium and large manufacturing enterprises in three major sectors: automotive, electronics, and textiles. The results show that community pressure has a positive effect on supplier collaboration, which further leads to enhanced process eco‐innovation. On the other hand, the findings indicate that while market pressure enhances customer collaboration, this does not reinforce product eco‐innovation. Contrary to our expectation, regulatory pressures do not impact supplier or customer collaboration for innovation. Overall, different institutional factors indicate divergent effects on supply chain collaboration and product/process eco‐innovation. The importance of normative pressures, such as those applied through the local community and interest groups, for eco‐innovations in production processes is further discussed as a typical feature of the institutional environment of Chinese supplier firms.     

Eco‐innovation motivations and ecodesign tool implementation in companies in the Nordic textile and information technology sectors

The current sustainability challenges and the required systemic transformation highlight the need for innovations on multiple levels. Ecodesign integrates environmental aspects into product and process design to reduce environmental impacts, whereas eco‐innovation also concerns nontechnological solutions. In this paper, we formulate a model that combines eco‐innovation targets ad mechanisms with sustainability maturity, which also concerns stimuli and barriers faced by companies and ecodesign tools used. The results are based on a questionnaire sent to 902 textile and information technology (IT) companies (N = 104) in the Nordic countries. The tools that Nordic textile and IT companies use in particular are life cycle assessment, type I ecolabel, and carbon footprint. Internal stimuli, especially general willingness, were important for eco‐innovativeness, while legislation and customer demand also pushed companies forward. Specific no‐go barriers were not identified, although increase in costs was a common barrier. The respondents focus often on technological product innovations, but rarely on functional innovation, renting of products, and so forth. This highlights the need to address the availability of the right kind of tools to support a broader suite of innovation that can drive toward the circular economy.     

Innovation as a driver of eco‐innovation in the firm: An approach from the dynamic capabilities theory

The aim of this study is to investigate how innovative capabilities of the firm affect eco‐innovation from a dynamic capability lens. We build on OECD research to conceptualise eco‐innovation as the capacity with which firms modify, redesign, and create products, processes, procedures, and organisations in order to reduce environmental impact. We propose and test the temporal and relational properties of eco‐innovation as a capability. We demonstrate that eco‐innovation possesses two properties of innovative capabilities, namely, persistence over time and interrelation with other innovations. We thus shed new light on the mechanism through which firms engage in eco‐innovation. We also provide empirical evidence to the debate on the relationship between the “normal” innovation (technological or nontechnological) and eco‐innovation. We show that eco‐innovation and innovation are interrelated both simultaneously and sequentially. Moreover, we show that innovation capabilities and eco‐innovation are not only related, but they also have a complementary nature, which facilitates the development of future eco‐innovation.     

Green technology innovation: Anatomy of exploration processes from a learning perspective

This paper examines how established firms use their core competences to diversify their business by exploring and ultimately developing green technologies. In contrast to start‐ups dedicated to a green mission, diversifying into green markets by developing new products based on existing core competences has proven to be challenging. This is because the exploration processes to find a match between green technology opportunities and internal competences is complex and new to most established firms. This paper gains insights into exploration processes for green technologies and the learning modes and outcomes linked to these processes. We examined exploration processes at the microlevel in an embedded case study of an engineering firm using a combination of the “fireworks” innovation process model and organizational learning theory. First, we found that developing green technologies involves a long‐term exploratory process without guarantee of (quick) success and likely involves many exploration failures. Second, as exploration unfolds along multiple technology trajectories, learning occurs in individual exploration paths (on‐path), when new paths are pursued (path‐initiation), and when knowledge from one path is spilled over to subsequent paths (across‐paths). Third, to increase their chances for success, firms can increase the efficiency of exploration by fostering a failure‐friendly organizational culture, deliberately experimenting, and purposefully learning from failures.     

On the contribution of eco-innovation features to a circular economy: A microlevel quantitative approach

The circular economy (CE) and eco-innovation (EI) are two concepts deemed instrumental in achieving a sustainable transition. They have been proposed in the academic literature and by practitioners and have acquired very high public policy relevance, being endorsed by policymakers and ultimately leading to regulations supporting them. It has been argued that both concepts are compatible and interrelated and that EI is instrumental in achieving the CE. However, little is known about how different EI features contribute to the CE at the microlevel. This article tries to cover this gap. Its aim is to assess and quantify the causal relationship between different EI features and the CE with the help of a unique dataset of small- and medium-sized firms in Spain and an econometric analysis. Our results show that only systemic EIs contribute to a global CE, whereas other EI types such as component additions or small changes in existing production processes could even be barriers to high levels of circularity. It is found out that technological novelty is not relevant for reaching the CE. The results support the understanding of how EIs enable a transition to the CE. Care should be taken not to promote incremental EIs that do not only achieve low (or no) circularity but that effectively lock-in the economic system in solutions that entail a barrier to the achievement of high-level circularity.     

A comparison of family and nonfamily small firms in their approach to green innovation: A study of Italian companies in the agri‐food industry

Despite the growing scholars' attention toward green innovation, on the one hand, and family firms, on the other hand, there is still limited attention toward the intersection of these two streams of literature, because very few studies deal with green innovation in family firms. This paper aims at comparing family and nonfamily small firms in their approach to green innovation. To this aim, a multiple case studies methodology was used to understand whether and in which aspects family firms and nonfamily firms differ. In particular, a sample of 14 small enterprises (seven family and seven nonfamily firms) operating in the agri‐food industry and located in Italy was studied. Results suggest that family and nonfamily firms are similar with regard to green innovation characteristics, features of the green innovation process, faced challenges, and achieved outcomes. On the contrary, family firms differ from nonfamily firms in three key areas: firm's motivations, most relevant pressures, and green innovation view.     

Innovation Capacity and the Implementation of Eco‐innovation: Toward a Contingency Perspective

This study develops a framework by drawing on the perspectives of contingency theory to investigate how innovation capacity affects eco‐innovation. The examination covers four moderators, including customer requirement, export destination, environmental regulation and government subsidy, and focuses on the types of eco‐innovation concerning pollution and waste. A sample of 2964 manufacturing firms from the Taiwanese Technological Innovation Survey is utilized to test the hypotheses. A moderated hierarchical logit method is adopted to analyze the data. The results overall suggest that the effect of innovation capacity on eco‐innovation depends on the levels of the four moderators. Specifically, the results show that innovation capacity has different effects on eco‐innovation when customers have a demand for eco‐innovation, export markets have high environmental awareness, future environmental regulations are expected, and the government provides a subsidy for environmental innovation. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment