Does Ecological Sustainability Really Matter? Evaluation of Its Mediating Role in the Relationship between Innovation and Competitiveness (original) (raw)
Related papers
Relationship Between Innovation and Sustainable Performance
International Journal of Innovation Management, 2016
Economic activities, and more intensely the business environment, are being pressured to direct their actions towards sustainable performance, more specifically in its social and environmental facets. One of the alternatives to deal with these pressures is innovation. In this paper, we present results of a study conducted on the electrical and electronics industry operating in Brazil in order to examine the relationship between innovation and sustainable performance. The methodology adopted was the strategy of cross-sectional survey, conducted in 112 electrical and electronic manufacturing companies of all sizes and from all regions of Brazil. Data analysis was carried out mainly through Cronbach’s Alpha reliability analysis of scales, descriptive analysis of measures, and especially cluster analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The main results categorise the companies into more sustainable, less sustainable and relatively sustainable, according to their performance profiles. ...
This paper analyzes links between eco‑innovation performance and selected competitiveness issues perceived by managers in the 26 EU member states. Different dimensions of eco‑innovation performance in individual EU member states were examined based on the Eco‑Innovation Scoreboard. The country‑specific data on selected competitiveness issues were obtained from the survey of business leaders carried out by the IMD World Competitiveness Center. The data on the Summary Innovation Index applied in the European Innovation Scoreboard were also used. The results of the cross‑country analysis indicated that overall eco‑innovation performance is strongly correlated with ethical practices, social responsibility of business leaders, health, safety and environmental concerns, as well as with corporate values. Moreover, it was found that the lack of pollution problems affecting economy, credibility of managers in society, environmental laws that do not hinder competitiveness of businesses, positive attitudes toward globalization in society, sustainable development being a priority in companies, and need for economic and social reforms are of particular importance in achieving better eco‑innovation performance.
This main purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between eco-innovation (EI) and cleaner production (CP) variables and sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) with the mediating role of green performance (GP). In this study, data are collected from 196 Iranian SMEs using an email survey. The proposed hypotheses are tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). The results indicate that the EI and CP are related in different ways to the SCA in a firm. A positive relationship is observed between EI and GP and also between CP and GP. The results also show a sequential positive relationship from EI and CP via GP to the SCA of firms. Managers can use the findings to monitor and influence the EI and CP in a firm to increase overall firm green perform GP and finally achieve SCA. Earlier studies have shown a positive relationship between eco-innovation, cleaner production and firm's performance. However, the green performance and business sustainable competitive advantage were neglected.
Sustainability, 2020
The concept of eco-innovation has begun to be considered as a solution to preventing environmental damage, especially since the 1990s. Eco-innovation is expected to reduce amounts of waste, air pollution, and material resource usage. However, the effect of eco-innovation on environmental and financial performance has received limited attention. This paper seeks to fill this gap by studying the effect of eco-innovation on environmental and financial performance. In order to do so, data were obtained by collecting surveys completed by 219 manufacturing companies in Turkey. By using structural equation modeling, we found that eco-innovation has a direct effect on pollution prevention, resource saving and recycling; furthermore, it has an indirect positive effect on cost reduction and thus on economic performance. The findings suggest that decision-makers should adopt eco-innovation due to its cost advantage and pollution prevention potential.
SUSTAINABILITY DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION: WHAT LINKS THESE TWO CONCEPTS
For several years, the relationship between innovation and sustainable development has been the subject of some of work which has mainly focused on the innovation’s environmental strategic dimensions (Temri 2011). Currently, the integration of sustainable development into business becomes an innovation generator factor (Mathieu and Soparnot, 2007). The objective of this research paper is to verify the nature of the relationship between these two concepts in the Moroccan context. To do this, a survey was conducted among a sample of 40 companies within different areas of the Souss Massa region. Through this study, we can confirm that there is a double link between innovation and sustainable development. Indeed, the establishment of sustainable development is positively related to innovation not only by innovating or not, but also by the number of innovations and the areas of innovation affected.
Eco-Innovation and Firm Performance: Evidence from South America
Sustainability
Eco-innovation has received a great deal of attention in academia and the business sector because it promotes a firm’s sustainable development and seeks to improve its performance. The prime objective of this study was to analyze the effect of the process, organization, and product eco-innovation on the company’s financial and environmental performance. Using a structural equation model estimated by maximum likelihood and a sample from 214 South American manufacturing companies in Colombia, Ecuador, and Perú, we found that organizational eco-innovation (OE) and process eco-innovation (PCE) are positively and significantly associated with the firm’s environmental and financial performance. In contrast, product eco-innovation (PDE) is not significantly associated with the two types of performance described. Likewise, OE has a significant and positive indirect influence on PDE, environmental performance, and financial performance. These findings suggest that OE and PCE positively affec...
The link between eco-innovation and business performance: a Taiwanese industry context
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2014
In practice, there are various types of eco-innovation. While each type of innovation has its own attributes, determinants, and contribution to business performance, it is not effective to implement eco-innovation programs without a holistic view. This study draws from the resource-based view theory to investigate interrelationships among three types of eco-innovation (process, product, organizational) and their relative impact on business performance. Using structural equation modeling with 121 samples collected from Taiwan Environmental Management Association, we find that eco-organizational innovation has the strongest effect on business performance. Additionally, eco-process and eco-product innovations partially mediate the effects of eco-organizational innovation, and eco-product innovation mediates eco-process innovations' effects on business performance. Business performance is directly and indirectly affected by eco-organizational, eco-process, and eco-product innovations. The findings suggest that, in order to develop effective eco-innovation programs, managers must understand the interdependence and co-evolutionary relationships between different types of eco-innovation. Overall, this study extends the discussion of innovation to the area of environmental innovation or eco-innovation.
Toward Sustainable Development: The Causes and Consequences of Organizational Innovation
Sustainability
As society continues to evolve, environmental contextual factors continue to change. The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between organizational innovation and individual, organizational, and environmental context variables, as well as the impact of organizational innovation on the performance of an organization. This study will investigate the incorporation of relevant aspects of environment, society, and governance into organizational innovation, and investigate its influencing factors on innovation. The information electronics industry based at Hsinchu Science Park was selected to gather data for this study. Overall, the number of valid questionnaires recovered was 138, with an effective recovery rate of 45.25% (138/305). The findings of this study are in support of environmental and organizational variables having the largest explanatory power for organizational innovation, while individual creativity was found to have less of a correlation with o...
Be Sustainable to Be Innovative: An Analysis of Their Mutual Reinforcement
Sustainability, 2016
Sustainable development has attracted the increasing attention of both researchers and practitioners. While academicians and practitioners' focus towards sustainability has shifted to innovation, there is a need to understand how sustainability and innovation are interlinked. Thus, this paper attempts to analyze, first, the bidirectional impact of the firms' pursuit of sustainability and innovation as the priority, second, the bidirectional impact of the adoption of sustainability innovation action programs and, third, to discern the bidirectional influence of sustainability and innovation performances. The evidence is drawn from a sample of 860 manufacturing plants in 22 countries from the sixth edition of the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey 2013. The survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire. Structural equation modelling has been employed to test the model. The results show that sustainability and innovation positively and significantly impact each other in terms of the adoption of their relevant action programs and performance. However, the pursuit of sustainability priority acts as an antecedent of innovation priority.
Innovation and paths to social-ecological sustainability
Journal on Innovation and Sustainability. RISUS ISSN 2179-3565
The traditional approach to innovation assessment has mainly focused on the economic outcomes and failed to capture the ecological and social dimensions of sustainability. By giving high attention to the role of specific kind of innovation (technological innovation), there is little empirical work on whether combining different kinds of innovation leads to progress in social-ecological sustainability in developing countries. The sustainability orientation in the assessment of innovation performance becomes increasingly important for achieve successful transformation towards sustainability. The research question of this study is under what condition or combination of conditions the intervention for innovation reconciles the trade-offs between socioeconomic and ecological performance and thus improve progress towards sustainability in poor countries. Combing concepts and methods from literature on strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR), value chain upgrading, sustainability, ...