Open-Eco innovationAt the Crossroad of Sustainability, Innovation, and Business Performance

Resum

In today's rapidly changing world, organizations face increasing pressure from society to adopt more sustainable practices, reduce their environmental impact, and promote social justice. Simultaneously, they are also faced with the challenges of technological advancements, societal shifts, and intensified competition. Therefore, finding the right balance between sustainability and business performance becomes a crucial objective for these organizations. Recent developments in sustainability literature suggest that embracing sustainability orientation can provide firms with a competitive advantage, ensuring their survival and fostering growth in the long run. Furthermore, innovation is seen as a potential bridge that can reconcile sustainability and business objectives. However, empirical studies highlight the inherent difficulties in aligning sustainability, innovation, and business performance. Many organizations lack the necessary resources, skills, and knowledge to effectively integrate these aspects. This dissertation contributes new empirical evidence that demonstrates the positive relationship between sustainability orientation and business performance (i.e., growth) in the long term. Moreover, it sheds light on the complex nature of combining sustainability and innovation, which does not always bring the expected outcomes. It also shows that this challenge can be addressed through an Open Eco-innovation strategy, highlighting the role of collaboration with external partners and leveraging knowledge from stakeholders in the interplay between environmental sustainability and innovation (i.e., eco-innovation), particularly when pursuing more radical environmental objectives. These results aim to encourage organizations to embrace such open approaches and become a driving force in the sustainability transition of our society.