Sustainability-focused innovation in the business-to-business context: Antecedents and managerial implications

Shuili Du, Ludwig Bstieler and Goksel Yalcinkaya

Journal of Business Research, 2022, vol. 138, issue C, 117-129

Abstract: Although researchers and managers have examined various business outcomes of sustainability, the literature offers little insight into how firms could cultivate a higher level of sustainability focus in their NPD endeavors. Drawing upon the literature on sustainability and new product innovation and using a competency-based and dynamic capabilities perspective as the theoretical lens, this study develops a model of key antecedents to sustainability-focused innovation. Data from a survey of managers in 228 business-to-business firms suggest that 1) a higher level of global focus is associated with greater sustainability-focused innovation, 2) open innovation exhibits a curvilinear (inverted U-shaped) relationship with sustainability-focused innovation such that the influence of open innovation is positive at a moderate level but diminishes when open innovation becomes excessive, 3) the relationship between open innovation and sustainability-focused innovation is contingent on a firm’s innovation strategy, and 4) sustainability-focused innovation is positively related to a firm’s NPD performance.

Keywords: Sustainability; Competency-based perspective; Dynamic capabilities; Innovation strategy; Global focus; Open innovation; New product performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:138:y:2022:i:c:p:117-129

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.09.006

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