How to reconcile business with sustainable development: an innovation approach

Johan Bouglet (), Olivier Joffre () and Simon Eric
Additional contact information
Olivier Joffre: IRG - Institut de Recherche en Gestion - UPEM - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée - UPEC UP12 - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: Purpose – Sustainable development has first been perceived as a hindrance to economic growth. Today, the opposition between innovation and sustainable development is less evident. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential complementarities that could emerge between innovation strategies and sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach – As a conceptual paper, this article aims at developing propositions. Findings – Sustainable development constitutes a new data of the macro-environmental context, likely to modify the competing industries and systems in which companies evolve. In return, they represent many opportunities that companies can seize to model their strategies. Within the framework of such an approach, innovation and sustainable development constitute engines of development which can get connected and virtuously feed themselves. Research limitations/implications – Because of the chosen research approach, the results lack generalisability. Therefore, academics are encouraged to further test the propositions developed in the article. Practical implications – Strategies, and their translation at the organisational level, integrating SD, may provide both a source of competitive advantage for companies and an enhancement of their commitment to society. Social implications – The practices described in the article are aiming at stimulating the innovation of collaborators, in order to integrate the principles of sustainable development within the company. Originality/value – This paper fills a literature gap regarding the study of how managers can take sustainable development into account to build their strategies.

Keywords: Corporate social responsibility; Strategic planning; Innovation; Sustainable development; Green marketing; Stakeholder analysis; Social responsibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published in Society and Business Review, 2012, 7 (3), pp.212-222

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

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:hal:journl:hal-01134600

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().