The Impact of Eco-Innovation on Performance Through the Measurement of Financial Resources and Green Patents

The main objective of this article is to contribute empirically to the understanding of the impact that eco-innovation has on firms’ financial performance within the framework of the resources-based view. Specifically, eco-innovation is measured by using eco-innovative activities and financial resources applied to eco-innovation to argue that the identification and measurement of certain resources of firms allow companies that are particularly active in investing in eco-innovation to be more competitive. Furthermore, the analysis attempts to ascertain whether firms that own green patents and other characteristics exhibit different level of financial performance than firms without registered green patents. The empirical partial least squares structural equation modeling results indicate a positive relationship between the investment of resources and the financial performance of eco-innovative firms. The effects of involving managers in eco-innovative processes as an environmental capability of firms are also tested

An Approach to the Measurement of the Social Impact of Environmental Innovation

According to the Triple BottomLine (TBL) framework, this study has built aknowledge network from a structured literaturereview about the eco-innovations socialdimension. This study has found indicators definedand classified according to the Firms' Stakeholders.It proposes a first approach to advance the analysisof relationships between Stakeholders, Firms, andEco-innovation and allow new measurements in thesocial dimension of investment eco-innovation

Definition and measurement of the circular economy’s regional impact

It has been argued that the circular economy (CE) represents an opportunity to achieve a paradigm shift in territory from the current linear model to a low-carbon, zero-waste economy. In this context, the implementation of the CE is holistically analysed to measure its impact and contribute to the debate about regional environmental management from the different perspectives of society, public administrations, and the private sector. Through a qualitative case study of a Spanish region, the main barriers of CE, such as the lack of funding for undertaking investments and the supply of recycled products, are identified, and the organisation of a waste-exchange system between companies or awareness campaigns concerning the CE are considered relevant incentives to be included in regional planning and management. This study confirms the economic and social win for CE that will be more effective as more CE activities are implemented at regional level

Dynamic capabilities and environmental accounting for the circular economy in businesses

Purpose: This paper aims to define and measure the environmental capabilities that are applied when the circular economy (CE) is introduced in businesses. Founded on the dynamic capabilities theoretical approach, the study analyzes different environmental competences that firms apply during this process. Environmental management systems, corporate social responsibility, reporting and accountability and other environmental accounting practices are studied in the same analytical framework used to study the environmental capabilities that influence the circular scope (CS) of firms. This study contributes to bridging the gap between academic research focused on environmental accounting and that investigating the introduction of the CE in businesses. Design/methodology/approach: The results were obtained by using partial least squares structural equation modeling to analyze the relationship between environmental capabilities for the CE and the CS achieved by a sample of Spanish firms with more than 50 employees that expressed interest in the CE, eco-design, eco-innovation and other environmental issues. Findings: Based on an analysis using the dynamic capabilities theoretical approach, the results suggest a positive relationship between the CS of firms, their environmental accounting practices and their level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and accountability. Stakeholders’ pressure – which has a mediating effect on the CS of firms – is also analyzed, adding new insights to recent studies of this topic at the micro-level. The authors also explore whether the CS of businesses, which is related to the degree of their development of capabilities, influences environmental and financial performance. Practical implications: The new insights obtained in this study can help overcome the limitations of conventional accounting approaches and incorporates a much broader scale of environmental information that can be applied to CE practices. These results also offer insights to practitioners regarding the internal measurement processes related to the CE and regarding CSR in particular for small and medium enterprises, because these metrics can be partially applied depending on the practices introduced in each firm. For policymakers, a better understanding of the CE’s introduction into businesses will contribute to the design of policies that can enhance its deployment, for example, by providing tools that set up regional priorities depending on the CE-related practices adopted by the firms located in the territory. Social implications: A CE involves the transformation of a linear economic model into a circular one to reduce dependence on raw materials and energy and to reduce the environmental impact of production and consumption. Understanding how to manage the specific competences that integrate capabilities applied to the CE will allow firms to improve their social and environmental reporting. In addition, other social implications of this study relate to improving relationships with consumers and stakeholders and to the practice of social corporate sustainability. Originality/value: This study goes beyond previous research on the CE to extend the authors’ knowledge about its adoption at the micro-level by taking a transversal approach, as its subject spans the fields of environmental accounting and the CE while addressing both in a framework of analysis. The analysis of the accounting concerns of the CE in businesses and the study of concerns related to endogenous environmental competences are quite original under the theoretical framework of dynamic capabilities, and this study is a first step in an incipient line of inquiry. © 2020, Sabina Scarpellini, Luz María Marín-Vinuesa, Alfonso Aranda-Usón and Pila Portillo-Tarragona

Strategic mapping of eco-innovations and human factors: Business projects’ success revisited

The ongoing discussion on the firm’s competitiveness requires to focus on environmental improvements. Thus, the development of eco-innovation projects has been recognized as an essential response of the firms to the pressure to diminish the impact on nature and society. The study aims to develop an approach to evaluate human-related factors affecting success of eco-innovation projects. The application of a multi-criteria decision-making and in particular the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method lets to disclose the main human-related factors. Meanwhile, an interval type 2 fuzzy DEMATEL revealed the cause and effect relations among the human-related factors. The results demonstrate that trust is the most important phenomenon among the human-related factors linked to the success of eco-innovation projects. On the other hand, the importance of leadership is relatively weak. Thus, the results suggest that eco-innovations increase the complexity of decisions and the traditional approaches to project management appear to be irrelevant. Moreover, the study revealed that communication and trust affect other human-related factors. These results are in particular relevant for managers responsible for eco-innovation projects. Moreover, the policymakers responsible for eco-innovation programs should focus on these aspects in developing training programs