A large number of recent studies show that sustainable innovation requires specific and new dynamic capabilities related to a new form of collaboration with suppliers, customers, research institutes and other related partners. These sources and external knowledges and competences require new skills in managing relationships and knowledge integration. Considering this gap, the purpose of this paper is to identify how knowledge-based dynamic capabilities (KBDCs) influence the process of developing sustainable innovations. To meet this objective, we use a procedural approach from the reconstruction of the green plastic project, in its R&D trajectory, from retrospective interviews and secondary data. Our results point to a set of practices (microfoundations) essential in the development process of sustainable innovations. We also identify the changes experienced in the knowledge capabilities of the company throughout the development of the project; this component provides the originality of this paper.
Plastic is an indispensable material for modern society. However, plastic waste is at the center of the current debate due to its presence and persistence in aquatic ecosystems. The literature recognizes that this problem is mainly due to the traditional linear economic model. The circular economy is a model based on the practices of reduction, reuse, recovery, and recycling of materials and energy. Circular economy solutions for plastic could hold the key to its present and future sustainability. Investigating the studies already done about plastic in the context of a circular economy is fundamental to understanding where we are and where we can go.
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