Page 126 - Hojnik, Jana. 2017. In Persuit of Eco-innovation. Drivers and Consequences of Eco-innovation at Firm Level. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 126
In Pursuit of Eco-innovation
competitive intensity, competitive pressure, eco-innovation practices
(eco-product, eco-process and eco-organizational innovation), compa-
ny performance (company growth and profitability), economic perfor-
mance, competitive benefits and internationalization. The validity and
reliability of the survey instrument, as aforementioned, were supported
by a comprehensive literature review and pilot tests using in-depth man-
agerial interviews in five Slovenian companies active in eco-innovating,
and the final version of questionnaire was completed online by respond-
ents from 10 Slovenian companies. Wordings for some items were mod-
ified based on feedback and insights from the managerial interviews to
tailor them to Slovenian eco-innovation practices, and some items were
also added upon their suggestion. A seven-point Likert scale was utilized
in this study.
126
Research instrument and operationalization of variables
and measures
Our questionnaire is composed of five different content areas. In the first
area, we asked respondents to indicate their level of agreement with items
linked to the antecedents of eco-innovation. In the second area, we fo-
cused on eco-innovation implementation (encompassing three dimen-
sions of eco-innovation: product eco-innovation, process eco-innovation
and organizational eco-innovation). In the third area, we asked respond-
ents about the consequences related to eco-innovation implementation
(competitive benefits, company performance, economic performance and
internationalization). The fourth area is dedicated to the company data
(year of company’s establishment, type of industry, size of the company in
terms of the number of employees and overall sales, year when eco-inno-
vation activities were started, and commerce transactions – B2B/B2C).
Finally, the fifth area is related to general information about the respond-
ents who completed the questionnaire. A seven-point Likert scale was
utilized.
Measures for eco-innovation antecedents
Respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement for each
statement on a seven-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strong-
ly agree). The measures were adopted and adapted from previous research
works, while some of items were added and adapted based on the com-
ments and insight from pilot tests using in-depth managerial interviews.
First, following Eiadat et al. (2008), we used four items to measure
managerial environmental concern. Expected benefits were measured by
competitive intensity, competitive pressure, eco-innovation practices
(eco-product, eco-process and eco-organizational innovation), compa-
ny performance (company growth and profitability), economic perfor-
mance, competitive benefits and internationalization. The validity and
reliability of the survey instrument, as aforementioned, were supported
by a comprehensive literature review and pilot tests using in-depth man-
agerial interviews in five Slovenian companies active in eco-innovating,
and the final version of questionnaire was completed online by respond-
ents from 10 Slovenian companies. Wordings for some items were mod-
ified based on feedback and insights from the managerial interviews to
tailor them to Slovenian eco-innovation practices, and some items were
also added upon their suggestion. A seven-point Likert scale was utilized
in this study.
126
Research instrument and operationalization of variables
and measures
Our questionnaire is composed of five different content areas. In the first
area, we asked respondents to indicate their level of agreement with items
linked to the antecedents of eco-innovation. In the second area, we fo-
cused on eco-innovation implementation (encompassing three dimen-
sions of eco-innovation: product eco-innovation, process eco-innovation
and organizational eco-innovation). In the third area, we asked respond-
ents about the consequences related to eco-innovation implementation
(competitive benefits, company performance, economic performance and
internationalization). The fourth area is dedicated to the company data
(year of company’s establishment, type of industry, size of the company in
terms of the number of employees and overall sales, year when eco-inno-
vation activities were started, and commerce transactions – B2B/B2C).
Finally, the fifth area is related to general information about the respond-
ents who completed the questionnaire. A seven-point Likert scale was
utilized.
Measures for eco-innovation antecedents
Respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement for each
statement on a seven-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strong-
ly agree). The measures were adopted and adapted from previous research
works, while some of items were added and adapted based on the com-
ments and insight from pilot tests using in-depth managerial interviews.
First, following Eiadat et al. (2008), we used four items to measure
managerial environmental concern. Expected benefits were measured by
