Search results

This paper aims to examine whether consumers respond differently to different types of eco-innovations and to explore how and under what conditions eco-friendly consumer innovativeness (ECI) impacts consumers’ perception and adoption intentions.

Two online experiments with real consumers in the USA were conducted to test the hypothesized relationships. Two eco-innovation products were examined: a connected vacuum cleaner (Study 1) and an innovative smartphone (Study 2).

First, consumers tend to express more positive product beliefs, higher preferences and stronger adoption intentions toward resource use elimination innovations compared with the other types of eco-innovations across two product categories. Although consumers are not willing to pay more, they would adjust their payment equity by increasing consumption levels for resource use elimination innovations. Second, this research demonstrates ECI affects adoption intentions via formulating consumer perceptions of product eco-friendliness. Perceived trade-offs between eco-friendly benefits and product effectiveness strengthens the positive effect of ECI while weakening the impact of perceived product eco-friendliness on adoption intentions.

Future studies may validate and extend the results for marketing communication to different types of eco-friendly innovative consumers to determine which marketing messages best match the perceptions and preferences of certain eco-friendly innovative consumers.

This study offers useful insights for strategic research-and-development investment and decision-making processes in selecting the best-suited approaches to developing eco-innovations and maximizing their success in the commercialization phase. Specifically, firms should place greater emphasis on resource use elimination innovation, which could evoke more positive consumer responses than resource use efficiency innovations and resource use substitution innovations. Moreover, it is important to improve the segmentation of the early adopters in the eco-innovation market with respect to specific types of eco-innovations so that marketers can distinctively address eco-friendly innovative consumers that best fit the potential user profile of their products.

The current research is novel as neither an empirically nor a theoretically founded framework has been suggested to examine how and why consumers respond differently to different types of eco-innovations. The findings shine new lights on eco-innovation research by providing useful insights into the underlying mechanisms and the conditions under which ECI affects consumers’ responses.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the role of eco-innovation type and its degree of novelty in increasing the stock returns of technology-based knowledge-intensive business service companies (T-KIBS), to advance the development of the concept of eco-innovation within the literature on the effects of innovation.

The effects of four eco-innovation types were examined across three degrees of novelty involved. The event study methodology was applied to the sample of 238 eco-innovation announcements released during the period of January 2016–June 2019 (inclusive) by European T-KIBS.

While the implementation of product and organisational eco-innovation was the most beneficial, the results indicated that a high degree of novelty resulted in larger increase of stock returns in the case of all the four eco-innovation types.

The eco-innovation announcements were gathered from specialised databases. However, it could be the case that companies may have used different communication channels (e.g. social media) to communicate innovation. Furthermore, a certain amount of bias undoubtedly exists, as the data came only from the European Union. Expanding the spatial scope to include the North American (especially the USA) and Asian economies appears necessary.

The practical insights into the role that the degree of novelty plays in eco-innovation announcements were formulated, which may be used to increase the market valuation of the firm.

Strategies supporting eco-innovation are crucial for business development as the value created for the stakeholders involved transmits in time into the enterprise value.

The paper attempts to fill the research gap concerning the impact of eco-innovation on the stock returns of T-KIBS.

This study aims to investigate the drivers of three main eco-innovation types within the manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt, as well as to examine the impact of these types in sustaining competitive advantage.

The positivist methodological paradigm is adopted in this study, with 183 valid questionnaires collected from the owners and executives of manufacturing SMEs. The SmartPLS has been used to analyse the data.

Results show that internal drivers (organisational capabilities, absorptive capacity and strategically environmental orientation) affect eco-innovation types. External drivers (regulation, eco-friendly products demand and competitive advantage) do not significantly affect eco-innovation types. The results also reveal that both eco-organisational and eco-process innovations significantly affect sustainable competitive advantage.

This study has presented valuable insights for owners and executives of SMEs and policymakers in the business and manufacturing industry.

This study has presented valuable insights for literature on eco-innovation, owners and executives of SMEs and policymakers manufacturing industry to depth-understanding of drivers of eco-innovation types. in addition, the role of eco-innovation types in sustaining competitive advantage for SMEs has been a significant contribution to eco-innovation literature.

Literature on eco-innovation brings insights that help to understand which factors trigger innovation focused on sustainability in companies. However, when analyzing the studies that comprise such drivers, it appears that most of them were focused only on describing them in isolation. Therefore, this study aims to understand which are the combinations of drivers that favor the adoption of eco-innovation in slaughterhouses located in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul.

This study has used the crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis (csQCA) as the data analysis technique, in addition to the previous application of Most Similar Different Outcome/Most Different Same Outcome (MSDO/MDSO).

This study identified eight internal and external drivers that explain the differences in performance of eco-innovative and non-innovative slaughterhouses. These drivers generate 13 combinations of factors capable of favoring the adoption of five types of eco-innovation.

A limitation identified was the difficulty to obtain information held by companies on environmental issues. In addition, in each company the authors only approached one respondent.

The use of combinations is identified by companies and governmental and non-governmental organizations to promote eco-innovation in slaughterhouses.

This study may be considered original for its contribution to the improvement of eco-innovation literature by describing how the drivers identified combine to favor the adoption of certain types of eco-innovation. In addition, the authors also made an original use of csQCA, linked with MSDO/MDSO, in the field of eco-innovation.

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 purpose of this paper is to investigate different types of innovations and their effects on eco-innovation practices by firms practicing green technology in Malaysia.

This paper collected data via postal and online surveys. The population frame for this study was obtained from the External Trade Development Corporation directory 2010 and the MyHijau Directory published in 2013. Surveys were distributed to the top management of green technology companies.

Based on the reflections from the managers who participated in the survey, this study found that environmental compliance has become a critical issue and lack of enforcement can no longer be ignored. Despite that fact that eco-innovation inspection activities to comply with environmental regulations are carried out periodically by the studied firms, the challenges in deploying the latest green technologies and their potential benefits have remain evident. Often, a shortage of resources has restricted firms in setting up in-house research and development units.

The findings of this study lead to the suggestion that firms practicing green technology should engage in an information-sharing culture with key suppliers regarding the latest know-how and technological developments. Among the recommendations are that firms should engage employees, customers, suppliers and competitors through co-production. This engagement will help improve product marketability, lean production processes and the design of desired green products.

This study investigated the level of eco-innovation practices for each dimension of its construct and compared that level to the different stages of firm innovation. The results will fill in the gaps in the literature because previous studies only focused on theory testing and modelling of eco-innovation from a multidisciplinary approach.

This research focuses on establishing relationships between eco-innovation and organisational innovation and innovation in general to characterise organisational eco-innovation in European Union companies. We also aim to investigate the forms of innovations that eco-innovative companies use as well as the factors or determinants of eco-innovation in the corporate environment that impel the use of organisational innovation.

We use the estimation of different binary logistic regression models with maximum likelihood applied to a sample obtained from the Eurostat's Community Innovation Survey 2014 database as a starting point.

The results suggest that the type of organisational innovation most closely related to eco-innovation is found in work responsibility and decision-making methods. Some less frequently studied significant factors are highlighted, such as training or aspects related to intellectual capital and knowledge management, since significant indications of the importance and acquisition of existing know-how have appeared, in contrast to internal knowledge generation.

The study seeks to observe what specific quantitative drivers (external or internal) are used for organisational eco-innovation, as a specific subtype of eco-innovation. This can improve our understanding of the ways in which organisational innovation can be used by corporations to provide environmental benefits. The academic literature provides information on the drivers and determinants for both organisational innovation and eco-innovation separately, but we believe this article offers a new approach by looking at the specific eco-innovation drivers achieved through organisational innovation.

The fashion industry is diverse and demands a high amount of resources and labor for its operation. It has powerful tools that can positively impact the environment and society as a whole. In this sense, it becomes necessary for fashion to adopt sustainable strategies quickly. One way would be the adoption of eco-innovations by companies in the sector. The objective of this research is to identify the main eco-innovation initiatives carried out by companies in the fashion sector and to verify what the trend is in the sector in relation to the types of eco-innovation, whether technological or non-technological in nature.

To meet the objective, the sector’s sustainability reports are analyzed based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) initiative. The method used to treat the data is content analysis. The authors chose to use the GRI-G4 and GRI-Standards versions of the GRI structure, as they include topics relevant to its stakeholders. The analysis based on these criteria considers 18 reports prepared by four companies (Cia Hering, Grupo Malwee, Dudalina and Lojas Renner).

From the data analysis, it was noticed that eco-innovations of technological trends prevail in Brazilian fashion, in the first place, those of process (24.56%), followed by eco-innovations of product (10.53%). The pressure exerted by internal or external stakeholders will be fueled by the current scenario of sustainable development, positively influencing the adoption of eco-innovation. This characteristic can be attributed to the fashion sector, since technological eco-innovations overlap with non-technological ones in all the years that make up the analysis.

As limitations of this research, it is worth mentioning the availability of GRIs in the fashion sector. Even considering it a step forward, noting that larger companies support the adoption of these reports, it is important to highlight that only four companies make up the available database (Cia Hering, Lojas Renner, Dudalina and Malwee). From the adoption of the dissemination of sustainability reports by other organizations, the base could be expanded.

From this study, practical questions emerge that can contribute to managers and companies in the Brazilian fashion sector. Initially, the focus on eco-innovations is predominantly related to the technological component, with an emphasis on process eco-innovations. In this sense, business actions seek to resolve the accusations normally attributed to the sector, such as the adoption of unsustainable practices. For example, in cotton production, firms use large amounts of pesticides and water, despite the sector being accused of not taking proper responsibility regarding sustainability related issues.

Investment in eco-innovations indicates a positive attitude and change resulting from pressure and the need to return the market to society’s demands for more sustainable production technologies with less environmental impact.

The originality of the study lies in the systematization of a GRI analysis model applied to measure eco-innovations in fashion. Through the applied methodology, it is possible to emphasize that eco-innovations of technological trend prevail in the industry, first in processes and then in product development.

The presentation of the specificities inherent in the adoption of the cooperation practices for the eco-innovation development is sometimes fragmented and superficial in the literature. So, the purpose of this paper is to analyze how the literature has studied the association between interorganizational cooperation and the development of eco-innovation, for the developing a framework with the different faces of this connection.

To achieve the proposed objective, the authors conducted a literature review through the Web of Science database. The selected manuscripts were analyzed from the following categories: Why to cooperate?, What is cooperation?, How to cooperate?, Who to cooperate with?, How much is it worth to cooperate?, Where does cooperation take place?, When to cooperate?, and So what?.

Given the proposed objective, as a general aspect highlighted, the analyzed articles revealed that interorganizational cooperation has been presented as relevant for the development of eco-innovations. Thus, cooperation on their different faces allows companies to overcome resource constraints, even partially, while facilitating the development of different types of ecological innovations as costs and risks are reduced.

The theoretical contribution is expected to be the proposition of a framework capable of systematizing several specificities, including the antecedents and motivations, definitions and cooperation types, cooperation partners, important conditions that highlight how much cooperation is worth, where and when cooperation occurs and, finally, the main insights of this association, to guide future studies.

Eco-innovation is any form of product, process or organisational innovation that contributes towards sustainable development. Firms can eco-innovate in a variety of ways. The purpose of this paper is to identify nine different eco-innovation activities – including such items as reducing material use per unit of output, reducing energy use per unit of output, reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) “footprint” – and the authors ask whether these act as substitutes or complements to one another.

Eco-innovation is any form of product, process or organisational innovation that contributes towards sustainable development. Firms can eco-innovate in a variety of ways. In this paper the authors identify nine different eco-innovation activities – including such items as reducing material use per unit of output, reducing energy use per unit of output, reducing CO₂ “footprint” – and the authors ask whether these act as substitutes or complements to one another.

Introducing only one eco-innovation activity has little payoff (in terms of turnover per worker) with only those firms who reduce their CO₂ “footprint” having higher levels of turnover per worker. When introducing more than one eco-innovation activity the authors find that certain eco-innovation activities complement one another (e.g. reducing material use within the firm at the same time as improving the ability to recycle the product after use) others act as substitutes (e.g. reducing material use within the firm at the same time as recycling waste, water or materials within the firm).

The results suggest that firms can maximise their productive capacity by considering specific combinations of eco-innovation. This suggests that firms should plan to introduce eco-innovation which act as complements, thereby, boosting productivity. It also suggests that eco-innovation stimuli, introduced by policy makers, should be targeted at complementary eco-innovations.

The paper analyses whether eco-innovations act as complements or substitutes. While a number of studies have analysed the importance of eco-innovation for firm performance, few have assessed the extent to which diverse types of eco-innovation interact with each other to complement or substitute for one another.