Eco-innovation has been analysed from a variety of perspectives in different disciplines. However, there is a shortage of studies at a microeconomic level, especially from a management and strategic perspective. A gap has been identified in the literature for comprehensive, in-depth qualitative analyses of the dynamics of eco-innovation which take into account different firms and sectors (particularly service industry, where there is a lack of studies), in order to contribute to theory-building, considering simultaneously different levels of analysis (macro, meso and micro) and different types of agents who collaborate in the eco-innovation process. The key aim of this paper is therefore to create a strategic model of eco-innovation in order to identify and understand how and why eco-innovations are developed. A theoretical and empirical approach is provided by examining a set of eco-innovative cases from organisations in an advanced European region. To this end, a multiple-case study has been designed taking into account those gaps identified by the literature. An analytical model adapted from classical SWOT analysis has been used as a tool to obtain information on the eco-innovation process for the purposes of standardising the collection of evidence from the cases studied. A diagnosis of external and internal factors aligned with the organisation's philosophy and culture allows the strategic axes of eco-innovation to be established. The critical factors tend to be: environmental concern and regulation; knowledge and technological development, networking, and collaboration (external); and knowledge, resources and skills (internal). The strategic model contains some valuable features (it is integrating, holistic and dynamic) and provides additional knowledge of the eco-innovation process in a specific context, a regional ecosystem that plays a significant role in generating and disseminating eco-innovation. It also shows that the regional eco-innovation ecosystem appears to react by reaching outside its own confines and interacting with others to form a community of ecosystems. This model can be used to understand the particularities of eco-innovation in other regions, industrial sectors or even ecosystems. The main result of this paper, therefore, is the development of a transferable model of sustainable and innovative solutions in a specific regional context.

» Author: Bengang Gong, Dandan Guo, Xiaoqi Zhang, Jinshi Cheng

» Reference: Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 142, Part 4

» Publication Date: 20/01/2017

» Source: ScienceDirect - GPP

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