INNOVATION MANAGEMENT RESPONSES TO REGULATION—SUP-DIRECTIVE AND REPLACING PLASTIC

Pia Hurmelinna-Laukkanen, Eelis Paukku () and Sanna Taskila ()
Additional contact information
Pia Hurmelinna-Laukkanen: University of Oulu Business School, P.O. Box 4600, 90014 Oulu, Finland
Eelis Paukku: The University of Lapland, Faculty of Law, Rovaniemi, Finland
Sanna Taskila: Macon Ltd/University of Oulu, Chemical Process Engineering, PO Box 4300, 90014 Oulu, Finland

International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), 2021, vol. 25, issue 10, 1-21

Abstract: Changes in regulation trigger changes in the innovation environments. They may block specific development trajectories, but they may simultaneously inspire and stimulate completely new openings. In this study, we look into regulation that aims to address environmental problems and facilitate creation and diffusion of sustainable technologies and processes as we examine the responses of innovators to the regulation on plastic use and production—specifically, the so-called SUP-directive. A multiple-case study comprising six companies suggests that companies manage (with) the regulation-induced innovation and needs for change by adopting three distinctive strategies: (1) proactive change orientation, (2) reactive opportunity capturing, or (3) reactive survival mode. Acknowledging that sustainability-oriented regulation may push companies with environmentally friendly innovation activities and solutions towards reactive survival mode highlights the need for managerial agility in adjusting the solutions and the ability to adopt parallel innovation strategies. Observing the strategies adopted by innovators also is informative when evaluating whether the regulation meets its profound goals and intended effects.

Keywords: Innovation; regulation; sustainability; strategy; plastic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1363919621400041
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wsi:ijimxx:v:25:y:2021:i:10:n:s1363919621400041

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from

DOI: 10.1142/S1363919621400041

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim) is currently edited by Joe Tidd

More articles in International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim) from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Tai Tone Lim ().