Abstract
Although eco-innovation in the agri-food sector is receiving increasing amounts of attention, there is a lack of information about the specific conditions that encourage firms to develop eco-innovation strategies internally. Our empirical method relies on the data of Spanish firms operating in the agri-food sector, and uses the Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). Specifically, we identify the recipes of antecedent conditions that effectively foster the internal development of technological eco-innovation, and then we analyze whether differences exist in the internal development of product and process eco-innovations. The results show that different combinations of conditions can yield internally developed eco-innovation, but all of them indicate that cooperation with stakeholders is the key to fostering technological eco-innovation in this industry. This conclusion encourages the creation of policies and incentives to promote cooperation in order to improve the sustainability of the sector.
Highlights
Firms’ environmental responsibility is in today’s conversations among practitioners and on policy makers’ agendas
The number of studies about eco-innovation has significantly increased in the last decade [2], some aspects about companies’ eco-innovation drivers and conditions remain unclear
The study showed that the proposed conditions are useful for explaining the development of internal technological eco-innovations in the agri-food industry
Summary
Firms’ environmental responsibility is in today’s conversations among practitioners and on policy makers’ agendas. Managers and entrepreneurs are everyday becoming more aware of the consequences of their firms’ activities on the environment. This environmental consciousness is fostered from external pressures from stakeholders, such as regulators or consumers [1]. Some firms try to become greener by introducing changes in their products and manufacturing processes, enabling more efficient and responsible use of natural resources and energy. This behavior leads to the development and adoption of the so-called technological eco-innovations that take the form of new environmentally friendly products or processes
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