Eco-innovation practices’ adoption in the automotive industry

Eco-innovation is a construct that is gaining increasing interest from academics and researchers since it is commonly considered in the literature as one of the strategies that allow manufacturing companies not only to significantly reduce the negative impacts on the environment but also the generation of pollutants. However, little is known about the adoption of eco-innovation practices in manufacturing companies, particularly in the automotive industry. Therefore, this research has as main objective to fill this gap in the literature and explore the interdependence between eco-innovation of products, processes and management. The study is conducted through a research framework consisting of 3 measurement scales, 14 items and 3 hypotheses and an extensive review of the literature. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 460 companies in the automotive and auto parts industry in Mexico. Data were analyzed through Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Descriptive Statistics and Structural Equation Modelling. The results obtained show that product eco-innovation, process eco-innovation and management eco-innovation are good indicators for the adoption of eco-innovation practices for companies in the automotive and auto parts industry. The paper addresses a research gap in the academic literature in the eco-innovation field by providing evidence on the interdependence between eco-innovation of products, processes and management and the implementation of their practices in the automotive industry.N/

Eco product innovation in search of meaning: incremental and radical practice for sustainability development

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of eco innovation in order to achieve sustainable development in manufacturing industries. The outcomes of this paper attempts to describe the main drivers of eco innovation among companies, core categories of eco innovation practices in manufacturing industry and framework of radical and incremental eco product innovation. The last part of the paper provides the insight of the new paradigm for eco innovation research in new millennium particularly in developing countries. Design/methodology/Approach: The selected papers that have been reviewed were retrieved from Google scholar database with high citation index. Findings: Manufacturing acknowledges eco innovation as a pivotal role to attain sustainability development in ecology, economy and society. There are three main drivers that able to boost the manufacturing sustainability namely regulation, responsibility and competition. Four types of eco innovation practices are product, process, marketing and organizations. However, among of them, eco product innovation is highly discussed among scholars in new millennium. Most of high cited literature describes the dimension of radical and incremental literature in four dimensions: modes of changes, economy values, design changes and eco innovation practices. The new research paradigm should discuss on eco innovation management in manufacturing industry. Originality/value: Most of scholars are confused with the correct concept of eco innovation and its relationship towards sustainability development. Therefore, this paper attempts to provide a clear direction on difference between the incremental and radical eco product innovation implementation in manufacturing industry en route for building the sustainable development echoes to economy, ecology and society

Eco-innovative practices for sustainable consumption and production: what are the possible benefits for companies ?

The paper aims to present some eco-innovative practices regarding Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). The study also focuses on potential benefits for the actors who implement these practices, mainly with reference to companies. After a literature review on the actual importance of SCP and on the effects of eco-innovation tools and policies on companies, authors present the developed eco-innovation practices in three focus areas related to sustainable consumption and production. The aim of the study is to contribute to literature studies on SCP with the development of eco-innovative practices resulting by the integration of existing tools, by pointing out and valorizing their potentials and synergies. These practices have been pointing out in the framework of the international European project. Three focus areas are involved by the practices: sustainability of products and services, sustainability of production processes and sustainable management of industrial areas. Authors developed four eco innovative practices resulting from the integration of 15 existing tools. These practices offer many opportunities to many actors, mainly companies and public authorities, in order to achieve environmental and competitive benefits and implement eco-innovation principles with a cooperative and shared approach

The Relationship Between Eco-Innovation and European Company Success - The Driving Forces

This research examined how eco-innovation drives European enterprises' financial performance. The Panel Least Square Model was used to analyse a 2014–2020 dataset from 11 European nations. Policymakers, industry practitioners, and researchers can benefit from the study's eco-innovation insights. Eco-innovation was favorably connected with energy usage or CO2 (Carbon dioxide) footprint reduction, pollution reduction, product recycling, and product life extension. However, these relationships were not statistically significant, suggesting that they may drive eco-innovation but not alone. Eco-innovation and financial success were also examined. The coefficient showed that eco-innovation improved financial performance. This link was not statistically significant. Eco-innovation's influence on financial success may rely on elements not included in this study. The study's findings support innovation theory's multifaceted and interactive character. The shift from a linear to an interactive model of eco-innovation emphasizes the relevance of various elements and their interaction in generating eco-innovation results. According to the findings, governments should encourage collaboration between companies, academic institutions, and government agencies to share information and spread innovation. Create platforms and networks for eco-innovation best practices, technology, and knowledge. Open innovation and collaborations boost eco-innovations across industries. Keywords: Innovation, Eco-innovation, Financial Performance, Internal Research and Development (R&D), Environmental Benefits, and Public Performance

Antecedente E Consequentes da Eco-Inovação para a Sustentabilidade: Percepções das Gerações no Brasil e Em Portugal

Purpose – This study aims to analyze the perception of generations (Baby boomers, X and Y) about the influence of Holistic Helixes of Innovation on Eco-innovation, as well as Eco-innovation on Environmental Practices, Cleaner Production, Social Actions, Regional Development, Smart Cities and Sustainable Development. Theoretical framework – Holistic Helixes of Innovation, Eco-innovation, Environmental Practices, Cleaner Production, Social Actions, Regional Development, Smart Cities and Sustainable Development. Design/methodology/approach – The method used was a descriptive, quantitative research, applied to 1032 individuals residing in Brazil and Portugal, analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. Findings – Holistic Helixes of Innovation strongly influence Eco-innovation. This finding can contribute to the promotion of public policies to encourage integration among stakeholders of holistic innovation helices, such as universities, government, industries, technology parks, spin-offs, incubators, startup, consulting teams, non-governmental organizations, shareholders, suppliers, and customers. The study also shows the positive influence of eco-innovation on environmental practices, cleaner production, social actions, smart cities, sustainable development, with emphasis on regional development. Research, Practical & Social implications – The Eco-innovation precepts are key to trigger positive influences on socio-environmental aspects, smart cities and regional and sustainable development. In this sense, organizations and governments can contribute to society, with greater efficiency, allocating resources in projects that develop socio-environmental innovations. Originality/value – It is relevant for science to know the variables that can help governments and other organizations to develop policies and actions to promote the improvement of people's quality of life from a long-term triple bottom line perspective

"Open Innovation" and "Triple Helix" Models of Innovation: Can Synergy in Innovation Systems Be Measured?

The model of "Open Innovations" (OI) can be compared with the "Triple Helix of University-Industry-Government Relations" (TH) as attempts to find surplus value in bringing industrial innovation closer to public R&D. Whereas the firm is central in the model of OI, the TH adds multi-centeredness: in addition to firms, universities and (e.g., regional) governments can take leading roles in innovation eco-systems. In addition to the (transversal) technology transfer at each moment of time, one can focus on the dynamics in the feedback loops. Under specifiable conditions, feedback loops can be turned into feedforward ones that drive innovation eco-systems towards self-organization and the auto-catalytic generation of new options. The generation of options can be more important than historical realizations ("best practices") for the longer-term viability of knowledge-based innovation systems. A system without sufficient options, for example, is locked-in. The generation of redundancy -- the Triple Helix indicator -- can be used as a measure of unrealized but technologically feasible options given a historical configuration. Different coordination mechanisms (markets, policies, knowledge) provide different perspectives on the same information and thus generate redundancy. Increased redundancy not only stimulates innovation in an eco-system by reducing the prevailing uncertainty; it also enhances the synergy in and innovativeness of an innovation system.Comment: Journal of Open Innovations: Technology, Market and Complexity, 2(1) (2016) 1-12; doi:10.1186/s40852-016-0039-

Sustainable forest management: analysis of eco-innovation process in Amazon

[EN] Evaluation of eco-innovation practices in companies has been widely studied, however, there is a gap in the literature on the adoption of eco-innovative practices in companies located in the Amazon/Brazil. Therefore, the objective of this research is to analyze the eco-innovation process in an industry located in the Amazon related to sustainable forest management. The purpose of the research was to conduct an exploratory case study (in-depth case) in a logging company located in the Amazon/Brazil. The relevance of the study lies in the process of making the eco-innovations developed by the company clearer and being able to compare them with the existing literature through a form that allows the evaluation of eco-innovative activities within an organization.Coelho, MA. (2022). Sustainable forest management: analysis of eco-innovation process in Amazon. Journal of Applied Research in Technology & Engineering. 3(2):103-114. https://doi.org/10.4995/jarte.2022.177821031143

Intra-family succession motivating eco-innovation: A study of family firms in the German and Italian wine sector

Despite the increasing relevance of environmentally friendly practices in the wine industry, which are mainly shaped by family firms, research has yet to examine in detail the internal drivers of eco-innovation in such firms. Intra-family succession as a driver of eco-innovation is an intriguing topic of study, as prior studies indicate that it may create new opportunities. Accordingly, a field study of 28 family firms was conducted to examine the internal drivers of eco-innovation in depth, with a specific focus on family firms and intra-family succession. The results revealed that intra-family succession encourages family firms to engage in eco-innovation, to different extents, in three ways: (i) becoming a facilitator in the community; (ii) fostering environmental consciousness; and (iii) developing environmental passion. Overall, this study widens the examination of internal factors influencing eco-innovation, improves the understanding of eco-innovation among family firms, and provides evidence of how to support next-generation members to develop their future orientation and consciousness about the importance of protecting natural resources and their responsibility towards stakeholders and the community

Проблеми реалізації принципів правової держави в Україні

Eco-innovation continues to gain support as a driving force for sustainable development. In this regard, pressing questions include how to stimulate the development, diffusion and use of eco-innovations. Often, firms engaged with eco-innovation need to connect to intermediary organizations (e.g. business development organizations, regional clusters, universities, financers, incubators) to get hold of necessary resources to tackle the challenges in the innovation process. This article analyses the functions of such intermediary organizations for eco-innovation by focusing on public–owned business development organizations and cluster initiatives in the Region Scania, Sweden and North Rhine Westphalia, Germany.  We synthesise at least eight functions of intermediaries for eco-innovation as: (i) forecasting and road mapping (ii) resource mobilization (iii) networking and partnerships (iv) commercialization (v) technical consulting (vi) information scanning and distribution (vii) sector branding and legitimation (viii) prototyping and piloting.  The support functions often take a “one-size-fits-all” approach with few initiatives particularly tailored for eco-innovations. This can be explained by the market complementarity roles of public intermediaries, their resource constraints and the cross-sectoral nature of eco-innovation. Even though, intermediary functions are often appreciated by clients and financers, it is often difficult to establish a causal relation between the support and eco-innovation outcomes, a challenge which undermines the existence of intermediaries themselves. Despite these challenges, potential good practices point to a mix between general “one-size-fits-all” and tailored support activities for different types of eco-innovations and firms. Furthermore, interaction between various types of intermediaries is important since there are often numerous actors and initiatives working with eco-innovation which can confuse firms. When it comes to stimulating radical eco-innovations, a proactive approach to intermediation is particularly important. SHIF

The Effect Of Stakeholder Pressure On Sustainable Performance Mediated By Eco-Innovation Practices

Increasing awareness and global concerns on sustainability issues are striving the firms to improve their sustainability performance in order to satisfy multiple stakeholders.Firms are facing growing pressure to become “greener” and more environmentally friendly. This pressure is increasingly felt by high polluting industry,such as chemical industry.In Malaysia,the chemical industry is one of the main contributors to the country’s pollution index.Stakeholder pressures (SHP) are believed will affect the firm’s activities that will in turns affect their business performance.Therefore,firms have had to review their production processes as a result of pressures from the multiple stakeholders.Eco-innovation is a promising approach that decreases environmental impact and helps firms to sustain their business and the environment. Eco-innovation plays an important role in the implementation of sustainable development.The overall objective of eco-innovation is to reduce impact on the environment,as well as to create new market opportunities,products,services or processes aimed at improving environmental performance.However,eco-innovation practices (EIP) are still less implemented by chemical firms in Malaysia since many are still not aware of its essential to improve their sustainable performance (SP).Thus,this study was conducted among chemical firms in Malaysia with the aims to investigate the extent of stakeholder pressure and the implementation of eco-innovation practices which believed will affect the sustainable performance of the firms.This study also sought to treat the eco-innovation practices as a mediating factor on the relationship between stakeholder pressure and sustainable performance.To meet these objectives,a series of research hypotheses underpinned by theoretical basis of Stakeholder Theory,Legitimacy Theory and Natural-Resources-Based View Theory (NRBV) were proposed to be tested.A mail survey was used for data collection and responses from 73 chemical companies have been used for data analysis using SmartPLS 3.0.The result reveals that SHP and EIP significantly and positively affected all the component of sustainable performance (SP).While EIP has partially mediated the relationship between SHP and SP.This study also revealed the level of SHP and EIP among chemical firms in Malaysia is moderate to a considerable extent.The result also demonstrated that social benefit has the highest score on embracing the EIP compared to financial and other factors.This study provides some implication in terms of theory advancements and practical applications that can help practitioners to better understand the issues and contextual elements related to stakeholder pressure,eco-innovation practices and sustainable performance of the firms which will enhance their competitive advantage