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The purpose of the study is to investigate how small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can effectively collaborate for eco-innovation using the business modes of innovation framework to emphasise three types of collaboration: “science, technology, and innovation” (STI), “learning by doing, using, and interacting” (DUI)-Vertical and DUI-Horizontal.

This analysis uses data from 838 SMEs in the Basque Country (2018–2020) to evaluate the effects of the three types of collaboration on eco-innovation. The authors employ a propensity score-based method to address potential bias associated with endogeneity in innovation studies.

The findings suggest that DUI-Vertical collaboration has a positive relationship with the development of product, process and marketing eco-innovation. Furthermore, DUI-horizontal collaboration is the most effective collaboration mode for SMEs, positively impacting their overall eco-innovation portfolio. Finally, STI collaboration is positively associated with product eco-innovation.

Policymakers should support SMEs by designing programmes that facilitate collaboration between competing firms to stimulate eco-innovation, but potential challenges of coopetition must be addressed. Rather than a generic, one-size-fit-all approach, SMEs' managers should identify the most appropriate partners corresponding to their specific eco-innovation goal, ensuring a more effective and targeted. Collaboration between science partners and SMEs should be reinforced by approximating the SMEs' needs more effectively.

This study contributes twofold. Firstly, the authors investigate whether the STI and DUI modes of innovation are determinant factors in the introduction of various types of eco-innovation. Secondly, the authors contribute to the literature on business modes of innovation by differentiating between DUI-Vertical (i.e. suppliers, customers and consultancy) and DUI-Horizontal (i.e. competitors) collaboration, thus highlighting the complexity of DUI collaboration forms.

The study aims to determine the impact of sustainable manufacturing on environmental performance through government regulation and eco-innovation in Indonesian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The results indicate sustainable manufacturing plays a significant role in SMEs' environmental performance and regulations, and eco-innovation can moderate it. It also reveals that government regulation has a positive and significant effect on environmental performance. Moreover, eco-innovation has a positive and significant effect on environmental performance.

The findings of this study indicate that SMEs can embrace sustainable manufacturing practices and achieve their long-term sustainability goals by adhering to regulations, collaborating with stakeholders and implementing eco-friendly innovations.

This research uncovers ground-breaking perspectives on the evolution of scientific knowledge about the impact of eco-innovation, regulatory measures and sustainable manufacturing practices on the environmental performance of SMEs.

Firms are engaging in eco-innovation as a response to environmental concerns. Due to its complexity, firms are searching, absorbing and using externally acquired knowledge toward implementing eco-innovation. Thus, this study aims to examine how different external knowledge sources affect the eco-innovation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing economies.

The study uses an Ordered Probit regression analysis for 318 developing economy SMEs to examine the impact of vertical flows (suppliers and customers) and horizontal flows (competitors and scientific organisations) on eco-innovations.

On the vertical dimension, the results show that external knowledge from suppliers is positively associated with eco-product and eco-process innovations. However, external knowledge from customers is positively associated with eco-product innovation, but not eco-process innovation. On the horizontal dimension, external knowledge from competitors contributes to eco-process innovation, but not to eco-product innovation. Finally, external knowledge from scientific organizations is positively related to eco-product and eco-process innovations.

First, the study contributes to the external knowledge literature by focusing on developing country SMEs. Second, the methodology used in this study constitutes a novelty as it provides a tool that categorizes firms according to the extent of emphasis they placed on both eco-product and eco-process innovations. Finally, it offers new evidence by revealing that the effects of external knowledge on eco-innovations are differentiated and not equally beneficial to firms.

Eco-innovation products, which means achieving more efficient and responsible use of resources and reducing the detrimental impact on the environment, can win a competitive advantage for the enterprises. But it is not easy to implement due to the high cost of eco-innovative technologies development, the uncertainty of market needs and return risk of investment. Many enterprises seek collaborations from their upstream suppliers to jointly carry out eco-innovation, such as Apple, IBM and Nike. A unique feature of collaboration is that efforts by one party enhance the marginal value of the other party's efforts. However, the collaboration will make the partner know the eco-innovation technology and prompt the partner to encroach the market to sell competitive products by herself. Motivated by this observation, this paper considers the optimal collaboration strategy on eco-innovation between upstream and downstream supply chain member and the optimal encroachment strategy of upstream supplier in a supply chain.

This paper models a supply chain wherein a supplier provides products or materials for her manufacturer and cooperates with her manufacturer in eco-innovation. Also, the supplier could encroach on the market to sell similar products by herself. Then this paper uses game theory and mathematical modeling to do relative analysis.

The analysis reveals several interesting insights. First, eco-innovation collaboration makes supplier encroachment no longer only rely on the encroachment cost. The delayed realized eco-innovation efficiency information also plays a vital role. Second, different from previous research, the authors find the manufacturer's preference for supplier encroachment depends on the uncertainty of eco-innovation efficiency and potential market demand. Third, both partial and full encroachment strategies of the supplier can effectively improve the eco-innovation level.

The paper is the first to take the interplay between collaboration and encroachment into account in a supply chain. The results caution enterprises and policymakers to take vertical collaboration and delayed realized information into account in the competitive supply chain before making any operational decisions. Furthermore, the authors propose that governmental intervention aimed at stimulating supplier encroachment in appropriate circumstances can contribute to the improved environmental performance of products.

This article presents a new approach to modeling the relationships of eco-innovation. The impact of eco-innovation on organizational performance is well known, but the opposite direction has not been explored.

The research used an online questionnaire survey emailed to 100 Ecuadorian managers. Data obtained from the 62 respondents were analyzed through structural equation modeling.

The results confirm that while eco-innovation increases company performance, higher performance is negatively related to eco-innovation, with managers preferring to dedicate company resources to projects with more significant benefits and lower outlay.

This study was conducted in one country, so generalizability may be limited. Moreover, the cross-sectional data prevent inferences of causality.

Eco-innovation activities are important to managers and can help them with a new definition of company strategy. The findings confirm that eco-innovation drives performance but not vice versa. It could be necessary to modify the strategy to create a sustainable business.

The results elucidate both directions of the relationship between eco-innovation and performance, representing a new contribution to the literature. The results also confirm that eco-innovation activities are valuable tools in building and developing emerging economies.

Este documento presenta un nuevo enfoque del modelo de la eco-innovación. La relación entre la eco-innovación y el resultado empresarial es bien conocida. Sin embargo, la relación inversa no ha sido investigada con la misma dedicación.

En nuestra investigación utilizamos el método de encuesta electrónica. Se enviaron cuestionarios a 100 gerentes ecuatorianos, recibiendo las 62 respuestas válidas. Los datos obtenidos se analizaron mediante modelos de ecuaciones estructurales.

Los resultados confirman que las eco-innovaciones aumentan el resultado de la empresa. Sin embargo, la relación inversa tiene signo negativo; en este contexto, los directivos prefieren dedicar los recursos de la empresa a diferentes proyectos con mayores beneficios y menor gasto que aquellos centrados en la eco-innovación.

Nuestros resultados completan el análisis de las relaciones entre la eco-innovación y el rendimiento empresarial y representan una nueva contribución a la Academia. Los resultados también confirman que las actividades de eco-innovaciones son herramientas valiosas para construir y desarrollar economías en mercados emergentes.

Este estudio se realizó en un entorno específico de un país, por lo que las generalizaciones son limitadas. Nuestros datos son intersectoriales, lo que dificulta establecer relaciones de causalidad.

Los resultados de las actividades relacionadas con la eco-innovación son importantes para los gerentes y pueden ayudarlos redefinir la estrategia de la empresa. Los resultados confirman que la eco-innovación impulsa el rendimiento y muestra que no existe la misma relación entre el rendimiento y las eco-innovaciones. Se podría sugerir que es necesario modificar su estrategia para crear un negocio sostenible.

This study contributes to current efforts to design and implement sustainable innovation strategies in organisations from the textile industry. This study aims to examine how businesses can overcome the current challenges (e.g. lack of resources) of sustainable innovation by the incorporation of green knowledge of customers into their value co-creation strategies. Such strategies are based on actively listening to customers and addressing their expectations with regard to environmental sustainability, in particular in the face of the negative environmental impact of the fast-fashion industry.

The findings of this study are derived from the analysis of data collected from 208 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Spanish textile sector. A partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis was conducted using version 3.3.3 of the SmartPLS software.

This paper contributes to the literature on environmental sustainability by informing SME eco-innovation through the active listening of their customers’ perceptions while implementing value co-creation strategies. The research has found that engaging with customers and actively listening and addressing their expectations can result in the creation of green knowledge that contributes to both incremental and radical eco-innovation in the textile sector.

This study found that when organisations from the sector lack eco-innovation capabilities, their existing and often their potential customer base is able to acquire new environmental knowledge and transfer it to the business through a process of value co-creation. The research also found that such green knowledge has the potential to lead to eco-innovation in the sector. In other words, the value co-creation process between the textile industry and its customers is a driver of the eco-innovations required to reduce the environmental impact of the sector, helping it address both its sustainability and its ethical challenges.

This study proposes that co-creation challenges such as the lack of resources, funding, qualified staff or technologies motivate companies in the textile sector to collaborate with their customers to seek joint solutions.

Eco-innovation is emerging as one of the most important constructs that improve environmental sustainability of firms. However, it has been shown that companies alone cannot adequately develop eco-innovation activities, which is why they require the implementation of external collaboration activities with intermediaries, suppliers and stakeholders to achieve a higher level of eco-innovation activities and improve business performance of manufacturing firms. Therefore, this research fills this gap by exploring the importance of the relationship between collaboration and eco-innovation.

The research is conducted through an extensive literature review with a research model consisting of 5 measurement scales, 24 items and 4 hypotheses. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 460 firms in Mexico, analyzing the data set through confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation models.

The results obtained from this study suggest that collaboration has significant positive effects both on the eco-innovation of products, processes and management, as well as on the business performance of companies in the automotive industry.

The findings of this study have important implications both for the public administration (e.g. development of policies to support companies and financing programs) and for the managers of companies in the automotive industry (e.g. training program for employees and collaboration with other firms).

This paper fills a research gap by expanding the limited body of knowledge that relates collaboration eco-innovation and business performance, which is why this research aims to fill this existing gap in the literature and explore the relationship between collaboration, eco-innovation and business performance.

This paper shows how organisational agility allows companies to adopt the necessary changes to remain competitive and produce with a lower environmental impact, implying customers in the value chain.

This investigation uses a cross-sectional design to collect data on the study variables from a sample of 260 Spanish manufacturing organisations. Structural equations with PLS are applied to test hypotheses.

Results show that organisational agility is positively related to eco-innovation. Furthermore, eco-innovation results in a positive relationship with organisational performance. Finally, it has been found that customer involvement positively moderates the effect of organisational agility on new green processes and products and makes green product innovations more successful.

Conclusions indicate that would be advisable that innovative companies promote capabilities such as organisational agility, and integrating customer involvement throughout their value chain, for developing successful new green products increasing their results with a lower environmental impact. Likewise, the customer’s involvement in eco-innovation projects has been found, in companies with agile behaviours, that could aim to increase their performance, helping to react more quickly to market trends and saving money in product development.

This investigation addresses three gaps previously identified in the literature. Firstly, it covers a lack of research on how agility could foster green innovation and how this could positively affect their performance outcomes. Secondly, it studies a moderating factor, customer involvement, and its effects on the relationship between organisational agility and eco-innovation in product and process and between eco-innovation in product and organisational performance. Thirdly, it introduces dynamic capabilities theory through agility concept to study the dynamic context of the eco-environment.

This chapter covers intrapreneurship, ecopreneurship, and digitalization, and presents qualitative research findings on eco-innovations and digitalization in Slovenia. Eco-innovations and digitalization are important aspects of intrapreneurship and the performance of existing companies. Practices of the participating company in circular economy and eco-innovations and digitalization are presented and discussed.

The post-pandemic emerging market is competitive and green, which has contributed to the growing pressure on firms to adopt into their business models green strategies with competitive outcomes. Therefore, this paper aims to draw from the natural resource-based view (NRBV) theory to examine how green intellectual capital (IC) can influence green competitive advantage of manufacturing firms in Ghana, by elucidating the mediating role of eco-innovation speed and quality in the relationship.

Cross-sectional survey data were obtained from 212 manufacturing firms in Ghana, using purposive sampling techniques. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to determine the factor structure of the measurement models. Structural equation modelling technique was used to analyse the hypothesized relationships.

The study found that green IC has a positively significant effect on green competitive advantage of manufacturing firms. However, while eco-innovation speed positively mediates the relationship, eco-innovation quality plays a negative mediating role in the effect of green IC on green competitive advantage of manufacturing firms in Ghana.

The framework of this study provides to managers of manufacturing firms, a superior green strategy that is unique, valuable and non-substitutable with the capable to provide green competitive edge to firms in a turbulent sustainability-driven market.

Through the lens of the NRBV theory, this study provided a firstly knowledge on the crucial role of eco-innovation speed and quality in driving firms’ green competitive advantage within a post-covid emerging market.