Eco-innovation by small and medium-sized firms in Europe: from end-of-pipe to cleaner technologies

This paper focuses on the relevant drivers of eco-innovation in 5,135 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In particular, we study if there are differences between the determinants of end-of-pipe and adoption of cleaner technologies between small and medium firms located in 27 European countries. Using a bivariate probit, significant differences comparing small with medium firms are found. Network involvement measured by cooperation with universities and research agencies is essential in both types of eco-innovation in small firms, but not for mid-sized firms. With regard to environmental regulation, subsidies are important only for small firms, especially for the adoption of cleaner technologies. On the contrary side, existing environmental regulation is a key factor to explain the adoption of cleaner technologies for medium firms but not for smaller ones.

[1]  C. Rammer,et al.  Determinants of Eco-innovations by Type of Environmental Impact: The Role of Regulatory Push/Pull, Technology Push and Market Pull , 2011 .

[2]  Carlos Montalvo Corral,et al.  Sustainable production and consumption systems—cooperation for change: assessing and simulating the willingness of the firm to adopt/develop cleaner technologies. The case of the In-Bond industry in northern Mexico , 2003 .

[3]  Judith Petts,et al.  Environmental Responsiveness, Individuals and Organizational Learning: SME Experience , 1998 .

[4]  Effie Kesidou,et al.  Stimulating Different Types of Eco-Innovation in the UK: Government Policies and Firm Motivations , 2010 .

[5]  V. Marchi.  ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION AND R&D COOPERATION: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM SPANISH MANUFACTURING FIRMS , 2012 .

[6]  C. Montalvo Corral.  General wisdom concerning the factors affecting the adoption of cleaner technologies: a survey 1990-2007 , 2008 .

[7]  R. Kemp,et al.  Technology and Environmental Policy — Innovation effects of past policies and suggestions for improvement , 2022 .

[8]  Vanessa Oltra,et al.  Determinants and Specificities of Eco-innovations – An Econometric Analysis for the French and German Industry based on the Community Innovation Survey , 2009 .

[9]  Stephen P. Jenkins,et al.  Multivariate Probit Regression using Simulated Maximum Likelihood , 2003 .

[10]  Frans Berkhout,et al.  Innovation dynamics induced by environmental policy , 2007 .

[11]  C. Montalvo.  General wisdom concerning the factors affecting the adoption of cleaner technologies: a survey 1990–2007 , 2008 .

[12]  C. Bloch,et al.  Oslo Manual - Guidelines for Collecting and Interpreting Innovation Data, 3rd edition: Proposed Guidelines for Collecting and Interpreting Innovation Data , 2005 .

[13]  O. Jones.  Understanding the small business sector , 2007 .

[14]  Chris Ryan,et al.  Business networks and the uptake of sustainability practices: the case of New Zealand , 2007 .

[15]  Mark Dodgson,et al.  Innovation and Size of Finn , 1995 .

[16]  Rebecca Henderson,et al.  Scale, Scope and Spillovers: The Determinants of Research Productivity in Ethical Drug Discovery , 2015 .

[17]  E. Masurel.  Why SMEs invest in Environmental Measures: Sustainability Evidence from Small and Medium-sized Printing Firms , 2007 .

[18]  Andrew L. Friedman,et al.  'SMEs and the environment: Two case studies' , 2001 .

[19]  Mark Dodgson,et al.  External Linkages and Innovation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises , 1991 .

[20]  A. Neely,et al.  Networking and Innovation: A Systematic Review of the Evidence , 2004 .

[21]  Reinhilde Veugelers,et al.  Which policy instruments to induce clean innovating , 2012 .

[22]  Henrik Hammar,et al.  Explaining adoption of end of pipe solutions and clean technologies--Determinants of firms' investments for reducing emissions to air in four sectors in Sweden , 2007 .

[23]  Daniel Kammerer,et al.  Explaining Green Innovation: Ten Years after Porter's Win-Win Proposition: How to Study the Effects of Regulation on Corporate Environmental Innovation? , 2006 .

[24]  Klaus Rennings,et al.  The Impact of Regulation-Driven Environmental Innovation on Innovation Success and Firm Performance , 2011 .

[25]  Mark Dodgson,et al.  The Handbook of Industrial Innovation , 1994 .

[26]  T. Foxon,et al.  Overcoming barriers to innovation and diffusion of cleaner technologies: some features of a sustainable innovation policy regime , 2008 .

[27]  David B. Audretsch,et al.  Innovation and Technological Change: An International Comparison , 1991 .

[28]  Philip Cooke,et al.  Small Firms, Social Capital and the Enhancement of Business Performance Through Innovation Programmes , 1999 .

[29]  K. Rennings,et al.  Determinants of environmental product and process innovation , 1999 .

[30]  Perry Sadorsky,et al.  The Determinants of an Environmentally Responsive Firm: An Empirical Approach , 1996 .

[31]  K. Walsh,et al.  Small Firm Networks: A Successful Approach to Innovation? , 2002 .

[32]  Han Shi,et al.  Barriers to the implementation of cleaner production in Chinese SMEs: government, industry and expert stakeholders' perspectives , 2008 .

[33]  V. Oltra,et al.  Determinants and Specificities of Eco-Innovations Compared to Other Innovations—An Econometric Analysis for the French and German Industry Based on the Community Innovation Survey , 2013 .

[34]  M. Frondel,et al.  End-of-Pipe or Cleaner Production? An Empirical Comparison of Environmental Innovation Decisions Across OECD Countries , 2007 .

[35]  Jacqueline Cramer,et al.  Barriers and stimuli for ecodesign in SMEs , 2002 .

[36]  R. Rothwell.  Successful industrial innovation: critical factors for the 1990s , 1992 .

[37]  J. Horbach.  Determinants of Environmental Innovation - New Evidence from German Panel Data Sources , 2006 .

[38]  Andreas R. Ziegler,et al.  Integrated Product Policy and Environmental Product Innovations: An Empirical Analysis , 2007 .

[39]  I. Cockburn,et al.  Scale, scope, and spillovers: the determinants of research productivity in drug discovery. , 1996, The Rand journal of economics.

[40]  Totti Könnölä,et al.  Diversity of eco-innovations: Reflections from selected case studies , 2010 .

[41]  Beatriz Junquera,et al.  A review of the literature on environmental innovation management in SMEs: implications for public policies , 2003 .

[42]  I. Vickers.  Cleaner Production and OrganizationalLearning , 1999 .

[43]  Miguel Ángel Tarancón Morán,et al.  Analysing the determinants of environmental technology investments. A panel-data study of Spanish industrial sectors , 2011 .

[44]  Michael E. Porter,et al.  Green and Competitive : Ending the Stalemate , 1996 .