Exploring External Knowledge Networks for Catalysing Material and Energy Eco‐Innovations in Spanish Firms

Claudia García‐García, Sara Fernández and Celia Torrecillas

Business Strategy and the Environment, 2025, vol. 34, issue 8, 9825-9843

Abstract: Several studies have suggested that collaborations between partners could be a key factor in obtaining eco‐innovation results. However, there is still an unresolved question regarding the combinations of external knowledge networks that could stimulate eco‐innovation. Using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) on a sample of Spanish firms in 2020, we found evidence that collaborations between different partners could affect eco‐innovation and that those partnerships differ depending on the green goal (material or energy). This leads to three main results: (1) For material, six possible paths of collaboration were found, while for energy, we found five paths. (2) Only one common path has been found for both goals: the absence of collaboration with Customers, Competitors and Universities and Research Centres, simultaneously. (3) Among all possible paths, one partner was most repeated: Universities and Research Centres, appearing in four out of six paths for material and two out of five for energy eco‐innovation.

Date: 2025
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