Sustainability-driven Innovation Research Articles

Approaches to sustainability-driven innovation in high-performing Italian firms: A cross-case analysis

This paper investigated the nexus between sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI) initiatives and exceptional profitability in high-performing companies. To this aim, employing a multiple comparative case study methodology, we analyzed 10 cases that excel in both return-on-sales (ROS) compared to industry medians and are actively engaged in SOI initiatives with public evidence. The findings of the study are categorized into internal and external factors affecting company performance, shedding light on managerial practices, organizational culture, and industry-specific variables. From a managerial standpoint, this paper offers valuable insights for managers seeking to balance between sustainable practices, encompassing multiple social and environmental aspects of corporate initiatives, while optimizing economic performance. The paper’s originality lies in its contribution to a deeper understanding of the factors influencing the profitability of SOI and their implications for company management. This exploratory research seeks to expand the knowledge of the relationship between SOI and financial performance (FP), providing a foundation for future research in this domain.

Exploring the knowledge base of innovation research: Towards an emerging innovation model

This study provides a systematic review of the literature on innovation research (IR) over the past two decades. We used data-driven approaches integrating network and natural language processing techniques on 41 innovation core and ancillary journals to characterize the IR landscape. Contrary to previous efforts, we explored knowledge in the whole IR field from general and specific patterns of growth and interaction using cluster-and term-based data and macro-and micro-level perspectives, respectively. Our results helped us uncover the changing features of the IR landscape in recent years: (i) a strong move into social-and sustainability-driven innovation; (ii) the merging of products and services into business model innovation; (iii) the more influential role of stakeholders such as the government and the general public; (iv) the use of global analytical perspectives while considering local contexts; (v) the importance of greater visions “pulling” innovation; (vi) the greater role of “soft” issues such as behaviors; and (vi) a shift into sectoral, geographical, and methodological diversification. Building on these aspects, we developed an emerging model for future innovation research and a series of IR propositions. Our findings help generate opportunities to build future innovation capabilities in research, practice, and education.

A life cycle-based, sustainability-driven innovation approach in the minerals industry: Application to a large-scale granitic quarry in Rio de Janeiro

Sustainability in mining must be envisioned from a more comprehensive perspective that involves the management of primary and secondary resources and that prioritizes the adoption of innovation beyond a techno-economic mindset. The holistic Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology is useful to diagnose the environmental profile of mining operations seeking a greater contribution to sustainability. This work proposes an enhanced life cycle-based approach for the minerals industry, which is supported by mine-to-product process simulation, scenario analysis, and a comprehensive and context-specific data collection involving the life cycles of the product and the mining project. The convenience of this approach in terms of reducing epistemic uncertainty is demonstrated with a Brazilian case study of a large-scale granitic quarry operation. It is shown that mining can contribute to sustainability by adopting sustainability-driven innovation and circularity principles. The proposed methodology can be applied to other mineral commodities and geographic contexts.

Reputational Imprints: How Public Criticism During Crises Affects Sustainability-Driven Innovation

Public criticism of firms’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices offers an important source of environmental feedback that can prompt innovation. However, such criticism can also affect organizations’ reputations in ways that constrain innovation, limiting both access to necessary resources for and the potential payoff from such innovation. In this study we examine this tension between public criticism as a source of organizational learning and reputational constraint in the context of global crises. Building on the organizational imprinting literature, we argue that global crises represent pronounced periods of upheaval for firms, during which firms are imprinted by public criticism in ways that over time channel firms’ sustainability–related strategies. We test our hypotheses using a panel data set of 4,738 companies across a 12–year period beginning during the 2007–2009 global financial crisis. Our findings suggest that although the firms initially engaged in similar levels of sustainable practices, firms differed over time in their embrace of innovation in response to ESG incidents depending on how extensively they were criticized during the crisis. Moreover, competition is shown to amplify the resulting virtuous and vicious spirals. Our findings contribute to scholarship on imprinting, corporate reputation, and organizational sustainability.

Organisational Strategies for Implementing Education for Sustainable Development in the UK Primary Schools: A Service Innovation Perspective

Education for sustainable development (ESD) in schools requires a whole-school approach to ensure that all stakeholders, including students, value sustainability and express this value in an active engagement in the ongoing development process. Such inclusivity however is rarely achieved, with benefits of ESD in schools usually recognised only by a select few. School strategies that continue to dominate research focus on management of the finite resources or give emphasis to a particular pedagogical agenda, whereas approaches that emphasise whole-school ESD engagement are scarce. This paper aims to address this gap. To do so, we propose to frame schools as service organisations and use service logic approach and service innovation theory to review how five primary schools in England define and implement ESD. The findings from our comparative case study discuss three strategies that schools as service organisations need to consider: defining sustainable student experience as a core service concept, developing an organisational culture of sustainability-driven innovation, and engaging in a value co-creation process with external stakeholders in order to facilitate the concept. Our results suggest that by placing “sustainable student experience” as the core service concept, schools can align their external and internal organisational activities to enable sustainable education for all stakeholders.

Co-creating Science Commercialization Opportunities for Blue Biotechnologies: The FucoSan Project

We report the experience of the FucoSan InterReg project that had the ambition to generate commercialization opportunities for biotechnology research in a marine environment. Fucoidan, a promising biomarine polysaccharide extracted from seaweed, offers a broad array of potential applications; however, the supporting innovation value chain is still under development. We explore how the use of business modelling tools can contribute to building a shared understanding of commercialization opportunities across a diverse range of research and development actors. We analyze data (interviews, workshops, and surveys) from a German-Danish network of actors involved in the FucoSan InterReg project to identify how the tools contribute to setting up a base to support future activities across a potential innovation value chain. The results point towards the direct and indirect positive effects of engaging in the co-creation of a shared understanding of the functionality and possibilities of promising biomarine products. The findings support the idea that interdisciplinary and multilateral interactions help actors to identify the necessary connections and interdependencies to build a sustainability-driven innovation value chain.

Fostering Innovation Performance from a Sustainable Development Perspective: Towards a Research Agenda

The benefits of sustainability-driven innovation and their impacts on performance under the three dimensions of economic, social and environmental performance has often not been adequately captured. This paper acknowledges the gap and presents a conceptual framework that helps identify the determinants towards fostering innovation performance and explains the relationship with sustainability practices through the pursuit of the exploitation of existing competencies and exploration of new opportunities from a sustainable development perspective. Their eventual impact on innovation performance is assessed from the dynamic capabilities theory perspective. The research contributes to the field of sustainable innovation and provides a roadmap for organisations to bridge the sustainability gap. It provides a holistic framework that examines the relationships of stakeholder sustainability orientation, market orientation, exploration and exploitation regarding innovation performance and its eventual impact on sustainable development. The research helps to confirm that the pursuit of a sustainability agenda is indeed worthwhile for organisations.

Sustainability-driven innovation at the bottom: Insights from grassroots ecopreneurs

This research focuses on a little studied area within the future of global sustainability, that of grassroots ecopreneurs. While living and working in resource-constrained environments these entrepreneurs strive to create economic value by combining social and environmental goals. Relying on inductive methodology based on eight cases, the paper analyses how innovations are being crafted with little or no resources, yet provoking a great impact in their local communities and beyond. We find the grassroots ecopreneurs pursuing a triple bottom line approach, from the harmonic combination of economic, social and environmental goals that have the potential to shape the future of sustainability on global basis.

The Path to Sustainability-Driven Innovation

OVERVIEW:Many companies see environmental sustainability as a cost—a legal and social obligation requiring investments that may never be recovered—rather than as an opportunity. However, environmental sustainability can be the foundation for increasing competitive advantage and creating business value, and it can be the basis for effective innovation. This is sustainability-driven innovation, an innovation approach that leverages environmental sustainability to drive superior business results. A study of leaders in sustainability-driven innovation suggests some best practices: inculcate a sustainability mindset, set high standards for sustainability performance, deliberately search for sustainability-based opportunities.

Sustainability-driven innovation and the Climate Savers' programme: experience of international companies in China

Purpose – This study aims to explore the experience of eight international companies, focusing on their strategies in sustainable innovations in China. Design/methodology/approach – This investigation is accomplished using a case study methodology. The research is based on the companies' secondary data and 47 semi-structured face-to-face interviews carried out in Chinese (Mandarin) between September 2010 and March 2012. Access to the selected companies was supported by WWF China. Findings – The findings of this study are summarised in a theoretical framework suggesting four different levels of multinational corporations' (MNCs') sustainability-driven innovations in China. Research limitations/implications – The paper is based on the research population of MNCs being WWF Climate Savers partners in China. The research sample has no Chinese-only companies. Originality/value – From the academic perspective this research is a qualitative analysis of the best practices in sustainable innovation of MNCs in China...

Sustainability‐driven innovation at Ecolab, Inc.: Finding better ways to add value and meet customer needs

Sustainability‐driven innovation at Ecolab, Inc.: Finding better ways to add value and meet customer needs

Mobilizing and managing the caring power of a community in times of need

This study provides a systematic review of the literature on innovation research (IR) over the past two decades. We used data-driven approaches integrating network and natural language processing techniques on 41 innovation core and ancillary journals to characterize the IR landscape. Contrary to previous efforts, we explored knowledge in the whole IR field from general and specific patterns of growth and interaction using cluster-and term-based data and macro-and micro-level perspectives, respectively. Our results helped us uncover the changing features of the IR landscape in recent years: (i) a strong move into social-and sustainability-driven innovation; (ii) the merging of products and services into business model innovation; (iii) the more influential role of stakeholders such as the government and the general public; (iv) the use of global analytical perspectives while considering local contexts; (v) the importance of greater visions “pulling” innovation; (vi) the greater role of “soft” issues such as behaviors; and (vi) a shift into sectoral, geographical, and methodological diversification. Building on these aspects, we developed an emerging model for future innovation research and a series of IR propositions. Our findings help generate opportunities to build future innovation capabilities in research, practice, and education.