Green Innovation Efficiency and Inefficiency: Mechanisms, Measurement, and Sustainability Implications
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 August 2027 | Viewed by 284
Editors
Interests: green innovation; green technology; green transition; sustainability; social entrepreneurship
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: green innovation; green technology; green transition; sustainability; social entrepreneurship; green smart cities; policy analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: green economy; smart cities; green innovation and technology; sustainability; carbon neutrality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Green innovation is widely regarded as a key driver of sustainable development, yet its outcomes are often uneven across different contexts. While some organizations successfully convert innovation efforts into meaningful environmental and economic benefits, others face inefficiencies that limit the effectiveness of their innovation processes.
This Special Issue focuses on understanding both efficiency and inefficiency in green innovation, with the aim of exploring how innovation systems can be improved across various levels of analysis. Rather than concentrating on a single perspective, it adopts a broad approach that welcomes diverse theoretical, empirical, and methodological contributions.
We invite submissions that examine green innovation from multiple angles, including organizational practices, stakeholder interactions, technological developments, policy environments, and performance measurement. Contributions may explore how innovation efficiency can be enhanced, how inefficiencies emerge, and how these dynamics influence sustainability outcomes.
This Special Issue is intended to serve as an inclusive platform for research that advances both conceptual understanding and practical insights into green innovation systems. Studies across different industries, regions, and methodological approaches are highly encouraged.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Submissions may address, but are not limited to, the following themes:
- Drivers and barriers of green innovation efficiency across firms, industries, and regions
- Sources, mechanisms, and consequences of green innovation inefficiency
- Stakeholder co-creation and collaboration in shaping green innovation efficiency and inefficiency
- Digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and smart technologies for green innovation efficiency
- Measurement and assessment of green innovation efficiency and inefficiency
- Data envelopment analysis, frontier models, and other methods for evaluating green innovation performance
- Resource allocation, coordination challenges, and operational inefficiencies in green innovation
- Policy, regulation, and institutional environments influencing green innovation efficiency
- Business models, innovation ecosystems, and sustainable value creation for green innovation efficiency
- Green innovation efficiency and inefficiency in small- and medium-sized enterprises
- Diffusion efficiency of green innovation
- Cross-country, cross-industry, and comparative studies of green innovation efficiency and inefficiency
- Governance, partnerships, and multi-actor collaboration in sustainable innovation systems
- Green innovation efficiency, sustainability transitions, and long-term environmental performance
Dr. Xiaobao Peng
Dr. Sumran Ali
Dr. Muhammad Ghufran
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- green innovation
- innovation efficiency
- innovation inefficiency
- sustainability
- innovation systems
- resource allocation
- co-creation
- digital transformation
- environmental innovation
- sustainability transitions
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