Interorganizational cooperation and eco-innovation: a literature review

Abstract

Purpose The presentation of the specificities inherent in the adoption of the cooperation practices for the eco-innovation development is sometimes fragmented and superficial in the literature. So, the purpose of this paper is to analyze how the literature has studied the association between interorganizational cooperation and the development of eco-innovation, for the developing a framework with the different faces of this connection. Design/methodology/approach To achieve the proposed objective, the authors conducted a literature review through the Web of Science database. The selected manuscripts were analyzed from the following categories: Why to cooperate?, What is cooperation?, How to cooperate?, Who to cooperate with?, How much is it worth to cooperate?, Where does cooperation take place?, When to cooperate?, and So what?. Findings Given the proposed objective, as a general aspect highlighted, the analyzed articles revealed that interorganizational cooperation has been presented as relevant for the development of eco-innovations. Thus, cooperation on their different faces allows companies to overcome resource constraints, even partially, while facilitating the development of different types of ecological innovations as costs and risks are reduced. Originality/value The theoretical contribution is expected to be the proposition of a framework capable of systematizing several specificities, including the antecedents and motivations, definitions and cooperation types, cooperation partners, important conditions that highlight how much cooperation is worth, where and when cooperation occurs and, finally, the main insights of this association, to guide future studies.

Open Innovation Strategies and SMEs’ Performance: The Mediating Role of Eco-Innovation in Environmental Uncertainty

“…The main focus of environmental issues is to reduce the negative role of human activities with environmental destruction and business sustainability. Eco-innovation focuses on creating new products or improving existing ones, and promoting environmental improvements in logistics processes [44]. Eco-innovation impacts sustainability development [45] and sustainable competitive advantage [46].…”

Drivers of multiple eco-innovation and the impact on sustainable competitive advantage: evidence from manufacturing SMEs in Egypt

“…There are several other factors that can foster eco-innovation practices. Of these factors, interorganizational cooperation acts as a catalyst for developing eco-innovation (Pereira et al , 2020). Third, the study was based on classifying the eco-innovation into three types; future studies can use other criteria to classify eco-innovation practices.…”

The Green Side of Industry: The Drivers and the Impacts of ECO-Innovations in Brazil

“…The supply side factors are those related to the technological capabilities available for the company to innovate [33]. As with innovations in general, the factors correspond to the company's technological and organizational capabilities [17,34]; the cooperative relations with suppliers, research institutes, agencies and universities [8,30,32,35,36]; the access to external information and knowledge [35,36]; and the access to subsidies and fiscal incentives [31]. Other factors related to the supply-side are energy and material cost-saving strategies [8,34,37].…”