Types of Green Innovations: Ways of Implementation in a Non-Green Industry

Attention to environmental sustainability represents an essential issue for the companies that, in order to integrate environment into their strategies, are producing specific innovations that have also positive environmental outcomes. Implementing green innovations represents a great challenge for non-green companies because it often requires the acquisition of new resources and competences that differ significantly from their existing competences. This paper attempts to propose a theoretical framework that classifies green innovations according their impact on company’s competences and analyses how green innovations can be implemented. Given the complexity of the issue and the variability of situations, we use a multiple case study analysis of several green innovations developed in a non-green industry, namely the automotive sector. Indeed, this is one that produces the highest environmental impact and, in recent years, it has been subjected to increasing regulatory restrictions. Companies operating in a non-green industry that implement disruptive, radical and architectural green innovations can initiate market and technological partnerships to mitigate against such internal weaknesses, such as the lack of technological capabilities and market knowledge. The collaboration helps firms to access new competences and capabilities useful to change or develop new technology capabilities and market knowledge more easily and with lower costs.