Diffusion Of Environmental Innovations Research Articles

The geography of environmental innovation: a critical review and agenda for future research

AbstractThis article provides a critical literature review on the regional determinants of environmental innovation. The analysis of the relevant literature on supply-side factors, demand-side factors, and institutional factors reveals the importance of regional determinants in green technology development. Specifically, regional R&D collaborations, university-industry collaborations, and technological relatedness have positive effects on innovation activities in green domains. On the demand side, regional environmental awareness and demonstration effects play a pivotal role in the emergence and diffusion of environmental innovations. Environmental regulations also induce environmental innovation, however, there is only limited evidence at the regional level. Our literature review has informed the development of an agenda for future research, which suggests three avenues for further investigation. Firstly, we recommend abandoning the simple green vs. non-green dichotomy and conducting more technology-sensitive studies on the determinants of environmental innovation. Secondly, we call for a more sophisticated and critical engagement with regional institutions, with a focus on both formal and informal institutions. Lastly, we propose a demand-side turn in research on the regional determinants of environmental innovation in order to better understand their diffusion across space. Overall, our findings suggest that policymakers need to adopt a more nuanced and comprehensive approach to eco-innovation policy, one that considers the spatial and multi-level governance challenges and promotes inclusive regional development.

The role of community–private sector partnerships in the diffusion of environmental innovation: renewable energy in Southern Israel

AbstractLocal communities have been identified as crucial actors in the diffusion of renewable energy, considered one of the most important eco-innovations of our time. Anecdotal evidence has indicated that local communities tend to play different roles in promoting eco-innovation, particularly renewable energy. However, what this heterogeneity looks like has not yet been quantitatively examined. Our study addresses this gap by systematically exploring the involvement of communities in the promotion of eco-innovation at the local level. We focus on their participation in renewable energy partnerships with the private sector in rural areas in Israel's southern periphery. Our study indicates that local communities play diverse roles in promoting renewable energy through varying involvement in finance, ownership, knowledge contribution, employment, energy consumption, and, most common according to our findings, the leasing of natural resources. The study further tracks the factors that shape this diverse involvement, including the community’s land size, population size, socio-economic ranking, and experience. Finally, the study unpacks the levels of risks and gains that local communities face when promoting renewable energy through their partnerships with the private sector. By confronting theory with quantitative research, this study sheds light on the diverse roles local communities play in the diffusion of eco-innovation, a prerequisite for renewable energy.

Innovative technologies of the green economy in the oil and gas complex

Subject. The article addresses the issue of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Objectives. The purpose is to analyze the diffusion of environmental innovations in the oil and gas sector. Methods. The study draws on methods of statistical analysis, generalization, modeling, and classification. Results. It is established that the introduction of environmental innovations in the oil and gas industry is hindered by such factors as resistance or lack of external support, lack of competencies, inadequate resources and scant experience of organization's management. Conclusions. Energy companies that have already invested heavily in green innovation gain a significant advantage over their competitors.

Economic barriers to green innovations in Morocco: the case of a zero-energy house

Building with a reduced ecological footprint has become a major topic in the energy and economic debate in Morocco. This article aims at analyzing the economic barriers facing the integration and diffusion of environmental innovations in the building sector in Morocco. The concept of environmental innovation is taken as a conceptual framework for our analysis. We present a case study of the integration of innovative technical solutions: it concerns the use of a bio-sourced material “hempcrete” (as a green input) and an innovative system (Curved Solar Panels) for the construction and the energy production of a zero-energy building. The results show that these innovative solutions cannot easily be adopted and generalized given the fact that their cost remains high compared to conventional solutions. In addition, at the macroeconomic level, several barriers can hamper the generalization of these solutions in Morocco.

Diffusion of environmental innovations: Sector differences and explanation range of factors

Empirical research on the diffusion of environmental product and service innovations has significant limits: almost all investigations focus on just a single sector or technology, usually energy, and concern a small number of diffusion cases. Therefore, it is hardly possible to generalize across sectors and to identify potential differences between sectors. We address this research gap with an investigation of a large sample of 130 diffusion cases from 11 different sectors. We apply a new mixed-method approach of statistical analysis and qualitative extreme case analysis. We provide insights on the differences in dissemination rates and knowledge on sector-specific factors. This helps to explain diffusion processes and design effective sector-specific transition policies. The concept of explanation range of factors clarifies the role and relevance of different diffusion factors and opens up avenues for further research on environmental innovation. Based on our findings, it can be concluded that some factors explain diffusion in (almost) all cases (high explanatory range), some only in specific sectors (medium explanatory range), and some merely in individual cases (low explanatory range).

The role of local government in governance and diffusion of Mobility-as-a-Service: exploring the views of MaaS stakeholders in Stockholm

Cities around the world constitute an emerging market for Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS). For local governments, MaaS may offer opportunities to reduce ownership and use of private cars for passenger transport, thereby easing pressures on urban space, the local environment and global climate. By drawing on literature related to socio-technical transitions and the diffusion of environmental innovations, this article analyses survey results of MaaS stakeholders in the City of Stockholm, where several initiatives to facilitate development of MaaS are underway. The results illustrate what stakeholders do and consider important, which kinds of barriers, opportunities and challenges are perceived, and what type of expectations stakeholders share about the role of the City administration in the development of MaaS in Stockholm. In sum, results indicate an important, yet delicate role for local governments in facilitating MaaS, whilst suggesting the need for regional or national regulatory solutions in the longer-term, to ensure legitimacy and transparency.

The diffusion of environmental product and service innovations: Driving and inhibiting factors

About two thirds of environmental product and service innovations are consumed in small market niches. This constitutes a problem, because possible environmental benefits only occur to a limited extent. While diffusion research on environmental innovation so far has been limited to case studies with only a small number of cases or has been focused on individual sectors, the purpose of our investigation is to provide generalizable insights on driving and inhibiting factors. Based on a large sample of 130 diffusion cases, we provide cross-sector insights on key factors that are driving or hampering the diffusion of environmental innovations. We identify three clusters of factors, which form constructs at a higher level of aggregation. “Market push”, a “favourable cost-benefit ratio” and “high compatibility and confidence in the innovation” constitute meta-factors that help to explain why certain environmental innovations diffuse well (“stars”) and others remain in a small market niche (“poor dogs”).

Dunking the dust: innovation diffusion, informality and policy opportunities in a stone crushing cluster, India

ABSTRACTThis paper explores the barriers to the diffusion of environmental innovation among informal enterprises with a stone crushing cluster in Odisha as a case study. The huge dust cloud resulting from the crushing process has polluted the air and settled on farmlands and homesteads in the surrounding region. This has been associated with farm productivity decline, road accidents, school drop-outs, out-migration and various ailments. The use of water sprinklers as an environmental innovation has been the major response of the state pollution control authorities. Few have complied. The barriers are examined drawing upon interviews with 50 enterprises and various stakeholders and review of secondary sources. Absence of community pressure in the cluster, pecuniary gains of informality, and dysfunctional institutional arrangements appear to leave businesses with little incentive to reduce their burden on workers’ health, the environment and the community. However, experiences in other developing countries suggest there are policy opportunities for overcoming these barriers.

The role of finance in environmental innovation diffusion: An evolutionary modeling approach

The implementation of climate adaptation and mitigation policies depend on the development of green technologies whose diffusion is constrained by a number of barriers which prevent them to spread broadly and at a fast pace. By means of an agent-based computational model, the paper investigates the macro and micro economic dynamics considering the role of a “traditional” commercial bank and a state investment bank that explicitly supports green investments. Simulation results emphasize that green finance matter and that the market diffusion of environmental innovation is more pronounced when the presence of the public investment bank is combined with strong consumers’ preferences oriented towards environmental quality. The relevance of the paper is twofold. Besides contributing to the literature on the finance-innovation nexus by considering the role of climate finance within a complex systems framework, it provides a model that can be used as a tool to explore policies to foster environmental innovation diffusion.

Do Financial Constraints Hamper Environmental Innovation Diffusion? An Agent-Based Approach

We develop a model that combines evolutionary economics concepts and methods with environmental economics concerns. The model is populated by consumers, heterogeneous firms, and a financial sector and is used to investigate the dynamic interactions between the demand and supply side, and the role played by binding financial constraints, in the diffusion of environmental innovations. The aim of the model is to understand how environmental goals can be effectively promoted and achieved in presence of a financial sector whose lending attitude is guided by long-termism rather than short-termism. We show that financial constraints act as a deterring barrier and affect firms’ innovation strategies as well as the evolution of technological paradigms. When financial constraints are less binding, firms do not perceive hindrances to the adoption of eco-innovation and, as a result, the presence of the average green technology in the market increases.

Do Financial Constraints Hamper Environmental Innovation Diffusion? An Agent-Based Approach

We develop a model that combines evolutionary economics concepts and methods with environmental economics concerns. The model is populated by consumers, heterogeneous firms, and a financial sector and is used to investigate the dynamic interactions between the demand and supply side, and the role played by binding financial constraints, in the diffusion of environmental innovations. The aim of the model is to understand how environmental goals can be effectively promoted and achieved in presence of a financial sector whose lending attitude is guided by long-termism rather than shorttermism. We show that financial constraints act as a deterring barrier and affect firms’ innovation strategies as well as the evolution of technological paradigms. When financial constraints are less binding, firms do not perceive hindrances to the adoption of eco-innovation and, as a result, the presence of the average green technology in the market increases.

Social Learning about Environmental Innovations: Experimental Analysis of Adoption Timing

Laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate how private and public information affect the selection of an innovation and the timing of adoption. The results shed light on the behavioral anomaly called the “energy-efficiency gap” in which consumers and firms delay adoption of cost-effective energy and environmental innovations. The subjects chose between competing innovations with freedom to select the timing of their adoption, relying on private signals and possibly observation of their peers. When deciding whether to make an irreversible choice between safe and risky technologies, roughly half the subjects delayed adoption beyond the time indicated by equilibrium behavior -- confirming the behavioral anomaly found for environmental innovations. When they did adopt, the subjects gave proportionately more weight to their private signals than to the actions of their peers, implying they do not ‘herd’ on the latter. Nevertheless, when the subjects observed their peers’ decisions, they did accelerate the timing of their adoption despite not necessarily imitating their peers. This result occurred even when the payoffs were statistically independent, as if observing prior adoptions exerted ‘peer pressure’ on the subjects to act. The experimental results suggest that rapid dissemination of information about peer actions can speed up the diffusion of environmental innovations and improve selection among competing technologies.

Are regional systems greening the economy? Local spillovers, green innovations and firms’ economic performances

ABSTRACTThe adoption and diffusion of environmental innovations (EIs) is crucial to greening the economy and achieving win–win environmental/economic gains. A large and increasing literature has focused on the levers underlying EIs that are external to the firm, such as stakeholder and policy pressures. Little attention, however, has been devoted to the possible role of local spillovers of a sector/geographical nature as a factor that correlates with EIs and economic performances. A rich data set that covers the innovative activities and economic performances of firms in the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy, an area dense in manufacturing districts, is analysed. EIs’ drivers and effects on firms’ performance are investigated through a two-step procedure. First, we examine the relevance of spatial levers, namely, whether high rates of eco-innovators in a given local area induce the adoption of EIs in firms located in the same local area. The role of the ‘agglomeration lever’ turns out to be fairly local in nature: we find that spillovers are significantly inducing innovation within municipal boundaries. Second, we test whether EIs adoptions have significantly increased firms’ economic performances and find that some firms’ productivity performances are positively related to EI adoption.

Cultures of sustainability according to Ulrich Beck scheme: territorial strategies for electromobility

The article questions the effectiveness of strategies adopted by territorial cultures concerning the diffusion of environmental innovation. What would be the optimal decentralization for energy and transport? The collected data were compared with an analysis scheme proposed by Ulrich Beck, that of “emancipatory catastrophism”, a positive catalyst of sustainability culture. These show that the widespread introduction of different types of electric vehicles better characterize the appropriate forms of decentralized climate risk. The Centre and the Periphery play a positive role in sustainable strategies. Pioneer automobile markets have difficulty in converting environmental values, strongly expressed, into effective solutions for pollution abatement, while emerging markets are struggling to emerge from the Utopia of sustainable cultures theories.JEL Codes: R4, O33

International Diffusion of Renewable Energy Innovations: Lessons from the Lead Markets for Wind Power in China, Germany and USA

The international diffusion of environmental innovations is getting increasing attention as an opportunity to improve competitiveness. Especially in the energy sector, countries use policy support to this end. A recent goal in this context is the formation of “lead markets”, which represents the idea that countries can build up first-mover advantages that will increase their competitiveness. Taking the lead in international diffusion of a particular innovation benefits a country’s industry through creating increasing returns of technological development and stimulating exports to expanding international markets. Interaction between national and international forces affecting renewable energy innovation and its diffusion has received fairly little attention so far. Here, we investigate the formation of lead markets for wind power technologies in China, Germany and the USA to see whether policy support of renewable energy innovation is capable of improving competitiveness. An extension of the current lead market framework is developed to include supply side factors and technology policy issues. The comparative analysis of lead market potential for wind power indicates a high level of internationalization of the industry with countries holding lead positions in specific parts the supply chain. Competitive advantages were built upon policy support but tended to shift among countries.

The impact of environmental policy instruments on innovation: A review of energy and automotive industry studies

Various types of policy instruments have been implemented to reduce local and global emissions, but the impact on innovation of different instruments has received less attention. This paper reviews empirical studies of the innovation impact of four main types of policy instruments in two high-emitting sectors. The conclusions are threefold. (1) Policy plays a key role for the development and diffusion of environmental innovation in the studied sectors. (2) Different types of instruments promote different types of innovations: general economic instruments has primarily encouraged incremental innovation, general regulatory instruments has enforced improvements based on modular innovation, and technology-specific instruments appears to have been needed to support the development and deployment of radically new technologies. (3) All types of policy instruments face challenges in design and implementation: understanding the selection impact of the chosen instruments, implementing increasing stringency levels, committing to an appropriate scale, and safeguarding policy stability.

Are Regional Systems Greening the Economy? The Role of Environmental Innovations and Agglomeration Forces

The adoption and diffusion of environmental innovations (EIs) is crucial to greening the economy and achieving win-win environmental – economic gains. A large and increasing literature has focused on the levers underlying EIs that are external to the firm, such as stakeholders’ pressure and policy pressure. Little attention, however, has been devoted so far to the possible role of local spatial spillovers which are one of the factors affecting sector/geographical specialisations. We analyse a rich dataset that covers the innovative activities and economic performances of firms in the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy, an area rich of manufacturing districts. We analyse EIs drivers and effects on firms’ performances through a two-step procedure. First, we look at the relevance of spatial levers, namely whether the agglomeration of EIs induces EIs in a given firm. Second, we test whether EIs are significantly related to firms’ economic performances. As to the importance of spatial levers, the role of agglomeration turns out to be fairly local in nature: we find that spillovers are significantly inducing innovation within municipal boundaries. Regarding economic performances, firms' productivity is positively related to EI adoption; in particular, firms that jointly adopt EIs and organizational changes show a better economic performance.

Environmental innovations in services: Manufacturing–services integration and policy transmissions

This paper investigates the relevant factors behind the almost unexplored realm of environmental innovation in services, using a dataset of 8161 Italian service firms. Specifically, we test whether manufacturing-services integration matters for environmental innovations. In addition, taking account for the heterogeneity of the service industries, we analyse whether environmental policies for manufacturing transmit ‘induced innovation’ effects to services. Our findings show that: (i) the drivers of environmental innovations related to carbon abatement and energy efficiency differ across industries, and (ii) cooperation, training, environmental management systems and public funding play key roles in these processes. The integration of services and manufacturing through push and pull-effects, and the environmental policy transmission effect from manufacturing to services, generally do not seem to have a positive impact on the diffusion of environmental innovations.

The Internationalisation of Managerial Environmentalism: Globalisation, Diffusion and Territorialisation

AbstractA remarkable feature of the past half century has been the emergence, diversification and diffusion of managerial environmentalism across large parts of the globe. This article examines how globalisation has been implicated in these internationalisation processes and outcomes. A central theme is that the ways in which aspects of managerial environmentalism have diffused are complex, multi‐dimensional and defy simple generalisations about the constituent mechanisms and spatialities. Moreover, the international diffusion of environmental innovations has been shaped by the domestic geographies of place, resulting in uneven and hybrid patterns of managerial environmentalism across space.

Agent-based modeling of the diffusion of environmental innovations — An empirical approach

This paper presents an agent-based model of the diffusion of water-saving innovations. The empirical foundation of this model is a study, which was carried out for that specific purpose. As an example case, the diffusion of three water-related innovations in Southern Germany was chosen. The model represents a real geographic area and simulates the diffusion of showerheads, toilet flushes, and rain-harvesting systems. Agents are households of certain lifestyles, as represented by the Sinus-Milieus® from commercial marketing. Agents use two different kinds of decision rules to decide upon adoption or rejection of the modeled innovations: A cognitively demanding deliberate decision rule and a very simple decision heuristic. Thus, the model integrates concepts of bounded rationality. The overall framework for decision-making is the Theory of Planned Behavior, which has been elaborated using innovation characteristics from diffusion research. The model was calibrated with empirical data stemming from a questionnaire survey and validated against independent data. Scenarios for the nearer future show that water-saving innovations will diffuse even without further promotion, and different promotion strategies that relate specifically to both innovations and lifestyles can be pointed out.