PRINCÍPIOS DE SUSTENTABILIDADE COMO DIRECIONADORES DAS ATIVIDADES DE INOVAÇÃO: UM ESTUDO DE CASOS MÚLTIPLOS

This study examines the existence of practices focused on the development of sustainability oriented innovations in four companies participating in clusters located in the Southwestern region of Parana state. The aim is to understand how sustainability concepts are present in the development of innovation activities in these organizations. The methodology is based on a multiple case study involving enterprises from the IT sector and the following manufacturing sectors: furniture, apparel, and metal. The research is based on the conceptual model developed by Hansen, Grosse-Dunker and Reichwald (2009), which determines management implications with the potential to reduce the risks involved in the development of sustainability oriented innovations. From the results obtained through semi-structured interviews conducted with the directors of the researched companies, it was possible to show that the companies´ efforts towards creating sustainability oriented innovations partially meet the model dimensions. This indicates the newness and informality nature of the actions undertaken by the studied companies in order to integratesustainability principles to their innovations, especially in the case of apparel and IT companies.