Innovation vs. standardization: The conjoint effects of eco-innovation and environmental management systems on environmental performance

Jesus Valero-Gil, Jordi A. Surroca, Josep A. Tribo, Leopoldo Gutierrez, Ivan Montiel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

46 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this study, we first analyze whether firms' eco-innovation, manifested through green patents, improves environmental performance. Then, we assess whether adopting environmental management systems (EMS) that follow standardized guidelines enhances the potential of eco-innovation to improve environmental performance. To test our predictions, we build a unique firm-level dataset that combines global data on green patents, EMS adoption, and performance from five different data sources. The data support the positive effect of eco-innovation on environmental performance. However, our results show that adopting EMS, rather than strengthening the positive impact of eco-innovation on environmental performance, generates organizational rigidities that weaken the eco-innovation–environmental performance link. After conducting a set of qualitative post hoc interviews with elite informants, our surprising findings became more meaningful. Furthermore, we conducted a set of additional tests to validate our results in different scenarios where organizational rigidities could be a pivotal factor in explaining environmental performance differences connected to eco-innovation. This study has relevant theoretical and practical implications for the design and adoption of EMS and the conjoint dynamics between innovation and standardization practices to improve performance.

Original languageEnglish
Article number104737
JournalResearch Policy
Volume52
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2023

Keywords

  • Eco-innovation
  • Environmental management systems
  • Environmental performance
  • Green patents
  • Organizational rigidities
  • Resource-based view

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