Environmental practices and innovation performance of US small and medium-sized manufacturers

Abstract

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to describe the adoption of environmental management and collaboration practices by US small and medium-sized manufacturers and explore whether there are discernible differences in product and process innovation that can be explained by differences in their adoption.Design/methodology/approach– This research uses descriptive statistics and probit regression analysis of survey data from 295 small and medium-sized US manufacturers in seven industries.Findings– There are significant industrial sector differences in the adoption of environmental management and collaboration practices, larger and older companies are more advanced in their adoption of these practices, and companies adopting these practices are outperforming their competitors in terms of product and process innovation.Originality/value– This research assesses US industry sector differences among small and medium-sized manufacturers in the adoption of environmental management and collaboration practices and differences in product and process innovation linked to this adoption.