Eco-innovation in plant breeding: Insights from the sunflower industry

Abstract

Seeds are a major means for transforming farming systems and thus occupy a prominent place in the transition to more sustainable agriculture. This article analyses the conditions involved in creating and diffusing new plant breeds that have agroecological benefits, called ecoinnovation varieties. By combining theories on eco-innovation processes with various scales of analysis, this study makes an original contribution to understanding innovation and transformation dynamics in the seed industry. Drawing on a case study of the sunflower industry in France and in Europe, the findings reveal which factors promote and hinder ecoinnovation varieties. The results confirm the positive interactions between technology, regulation, and the market in eco-innovation processes. They also show that economic incentives for companies are insufficient to push them to develop more systemic eco-innovation varieties. Moreover, changes in the mainstream seed company regime, with the increasing internationalization of their strategies, call into question their ability to foster farming practices that promote the environmental benefits of these new varieties.

Circular economy and innovation: A look from the perspective of organizational capabilities

“…They contribute to the extension of the life cycle and generate diffusion of knowledge and environmental benefits. Basic authors of this construct are Rennings (2000); Horbach (2018); Dolan and Humphrey (2010); Mylan et al (2015); and Galliano et al (2018). In this SLR, the relevant studies are De Jesus et al (2018); Leising et al (2018); Lesakova (2019); Kiefer et al (2018); Pashova et al (2018); Stankevičienė et al (2020); Scarpellini, Marín‐Vinuesa, et al, 2020; Scarpellini, Valero‐Gil, et al, 2020; De Jesus et al (2019); Singh et al (2019); and Parida and Wincent (2019); among others.Proposition Business model design/development positively influence the consolidation of the circular economy supported by innovation.…”

The role of ecological innovation and ecological marketing towards green marketing performance improvement

“…Several previous studies related to the effect of ecological innovation on organizations produce value in defining innovations that are able to attract green revenues in the market, reduce environmental impacts while creating value for organizations (Foxon and Andersen, 2009). Ecological innovation is involved in creating and spreading the benefits of new products called environmental innovation varieties (Galliano, Magrini, Tardy and Triboulet, 2018). This involves creating new spaces in markets, products and services or processes that involve social, environmental, or sustainability.…”

Ecoinovação no Agronegócio: revisão sistemática da literatura

“…Apesar da criação crescente de ecoinovações de processos, entretanto, algumas barreiras ainda impedem sua instituição. Diferentemente do que ocorre com inovações ambientais de produto, cuja influência se dá por fatores de mercado, as inovações ambientais de processo são conduzidas por regulamentações (SAINT-GES; BÉLIS BERGOU- IGNAN, 2009;PARK, 2014;GALLIANO et al, 2018), de modo que práticas como a fitorremediação para a reutilização agrícola de sedimentos poluídos dragados do fundo do mar por portos comerciais (CHIELLINI; IANNELLI; PETRONI, 2013) atualmente enfrentam desafios semelhantes aos módulos solares fotovoltaicos (TYFIELD; ELY; GEALL, 2015) previamente a sua legitimação e adoção.…”

“…Em suma, uma ecoinovação pode ser entendida como uma inovação técnica ou organizacional que evita ou minimiza impactos ambientais negativos (HORBACH, 2008). Esses benefícios podem incorrer em qualquer momento do ciclo de vida de um bem ou serviço até seu consumo final (GALLIANO et al, 2018), porém especificamente em cadeias agroalimentares há o problema do distanciamento entre a produção de impactos ambientais e o poder de governança, o que dificulta o desenvolvimento de ecoinovações (DOLAN;HUMPHREY, 2010;MYLAN et al, 2015). Em contrapartida, Blazy et al (2010) consideram que a ecoinovação configura-se como elemento fundamental para os agricultores manterem sua sustentabilidade econômica em consonância com as normas ambientais, sem comprometer a produtividade, maximizando a possibilidade de obtenção de vantagem competitiva (HASLER et al, 2016).…”