Page 23 - Hojnik, Jana. 2017. In Persuit of Eco-innovation. Drivers and Consequences of Eco-innovation at Firm Level. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 23
Eco-innovation
Table 1: Main peculiarities of environmental innovations as compared to other types of
innovations (identified by neoclassical contributions in the environmental innovation eco-
nomics literature)
Externalities Environmental innovations Other innovations
Drivers
Knowledge externalities Knowledge externalities
and environmental externalities
Demand-pull, Demand-pull and
technology push and technology push factors
regulatory push/pull factors
Source: De Marchi 2012.
We follow Rennings (2000), who argues that three peculiarities of 23
eco-innovation actually exist, which he further identifies as follows: 1)
the double externality problem, 2) the regulatory push/pull effect, and 3)
the increasing importance of institutional and social innovation.
In more detail, we describe the aforementioned peculiarities of eco-in-
novation identified by Rennings (2000). Focusing first on institutional
and social innovation, we mention an important peculiarity regarding
the nature and development of eco-innovation. Eco-innovations can be
developed by companies or non-profit organizations and traded or not
on markets, while their nature can be technological, organizational (per-
taining to management instruments at the firm level, like eco-audits), so-
cial (regarding changes of lifestyles and consumer behavior; Scherhorn
et al. 1997, 16, in Rennnings 2000, 323) or institutional (e.g., Rennings
2000, 324, posits promotion of sustainable transport or improvement of
material flow management in a certain region by a network of scientists,
public authorities and NGOs).
The second peculiarity of eco-innovation peculiarity pointed out by
Rennings (2000) regards the issue of eco-innovation placed between two
different economic sub-disciplines, which are innovation economics and
environmental economics. In order to provide an adequate analysis of
eco-innovation, an interdisciplinary approach is required. Meanwhile,
a valuable contribution derived from innovation economics pertains to
identification of innovation determinants and the complexity of drivers
that spur innovation, while from the side of environmental economics,
the main contribution regards how to assess environmental policy instru-
ments (Rennings 2000). Combining both approaches would lead to iden-
tification and assessment of the state regulation role to induce innovation
(Rennings 2000). On the one hand, environmental economics was ori-
Table 1: Main peculiarities of environmental innovations as compared to other types of
innovations (identified by neoclassical contributions in the environmental innovation eco-
nomics literature)
Externalities Environmental innovations Other innovations
Drivers
Knowledge externalities Knowledge externalities
and environmental externalities
Demand-pull, Demand-pull and
technology push and technology push factors
regulatory push/pull factors
Source: De Marchi 2012.
We follow Rennings (2000), who argues that three peculiarities of 23
eco-innovation actually exist, which he further identifies as follows: 1)
the double externality problem, 2) the regulatory push/pull effect, and 3)
the increasing importance of institutional and social innovation.
In more detail, we describe the aforementioned peculiarities of eco-in-
novation identified by Rennings (2000). Focusing first on institutional
and social innovation, we mention an important peculiarity regarding
the nature and development of eco-innovation. Eco-innovations can be
developed by companies or non-profit organizations and traded or not
on markets, while their nature can be technological, organizational (per-
taining to management instruments at the firm level, like eco-audits), so-
cial (regarding changes of lifestyles and consumer behavior; Scherhorn
et al. 1997, 16, in Rennnings 2000, 323) or institutional (e.g., Rennings
2000, 324, posits promotion of sustainable transport or improvement of
material flow management in a certain region by a network of scientists,
public authorities and NGOs).
The second peculiarity of eco-innovation peculiarity pointed out by
Rennings (2000) regards the issue of eco-innovation placed between two
different economic sub-disciplines, which are innovation economics and
environmental economics. In order to provide an adequate analysis of
eco-innovation, an interdisciplinary approach is required. Meanwhile,
a valuable contribution derived from innovation economics pertains to
identification of innovation determinants and the complexity of drivers
that spur innovation, while from the side of environmental economics,
the main contribution regards how to assess environmental policy instru-
ments (Rennings 2000). Combining both approaches would lead to iden-
tification and assessment of the state regulation role to induce innovation
(Rennings 2000). On the one hand, environmental economics was ori-
