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Open Innovation, Circular Economy and Sustainable Green Business: Current Issues and Future Perspectives

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: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 1596

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Katarzyna Szopik-Depczyńska

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Corporate Management, Institute of Management, University of Szczecin, 70-453 Szczecin, Poland
Interests: innovation; sustainability; circular economy; R&D; circularity; quality management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Carlotta D'Alessandro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Economics, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
Interests: circular economy; sustainability studies

Special Issue Information

Dear Collegues, 

This Special Issue, “Open Innovation and Sustainable Corporate Management: Current Issues and Future Perspectives”, aims to explore the dynamic interplay between innovative collaboration and sustainable business practices in light of today's complex global challenges. As companies navigate increasing pressure to address climate change, resource scarcity, and evolving societal expectations, the integration of open innovation and sustainability strategies has become not just desirable, but essential.

This Special Issue will focus on the cutting-edge developments, including how businesses are adapting their models to prioritize sustainability, how organizations are using collaborative and tech-driven approaches to solve ecological problems, and how corporate governance structures are evolving to support long-term environmental and social responsibility. Emphasis will be placed on interdisciplinary research that investigates both theoretical advancements and practical applications across sectors and regions.

By acknowledging emerging trends and technologies—such as digital transformation, data analytics, and artificial intelligence—this Special Issue will operate as a platform for contributions that explore how modern tools are reshaping innovation and sustainability. Topics of interest include open innovation ecosystems, stakeholder collaboration, ESG integration, circular economy models, and the transformation of business models in response to sustainability imperatives. The goal of this Special Issue is to supplement and expand upon the existing literature by providing fresh perspectives on how corporate actors can not only adapt to, but also lead the shift toward, a sustainable future.

Dr. Katarzyna Szopik-Depczyńska
Dr. Carlotta D'Alessandro
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-blind 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

  • open innovation
  • sustainable corporate management
  • current issues in sustainability
  • emerging technologies
  • circular economy
  • ESG integration
  • innovation ecosystems
  • future business models
  • sustainability transition
  • innovation ecosystems
  • future business models
  • sustainability transitions

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 281 KB  
Article
Does CEO Green Experience Influence Corporate Response to the Environmental Protection Tax? Evidence on Disclosure and Boundary Conditions
by ErShang Tian, Seo Hyun Kim and Sung Ook Park
Sustainability 2026, 18(8), 3852; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18083852 - 13 Apr 2026
Viewed by 381
Abstract
This paper examines whether CEO green experience shapes firms’ responses to China’s environmental protection tax (EPT) under the 2018 “fee-to-tax” reform. Using a panel of Chinese A-share listed firms from 2013 to 2023, we construct a firm–year measure of the effective environmental payment [...] Read more.
This paper examines whether CEO green experience shapes firms’ responses to China’s environmental protection tax (EPT) under the 2018 “fee-to-tax” reform. Using a panel of Chinese A-share listed firms from 2013 to 2023, we construct a firm–year measure of the effective environmental payment burden by harmonizing pollution discharge fees (pre-2018) with EPT payments (post-2018) and scaling by operating revenue. This measure is intended to capture firm-level response patterns under the EPT regime, rather than represent firms’ underlying environmental outcomes directly. CEO green experience is measured through keyword-based text analysis and manual verification of publicly available CEO résumés and coded as an indicator variable. Employing a two-way fixed effects framework with firm and year fixed effects and firm-clustered standard errors, we find that firms led by green-experienced CEOs exhibit a significantly lower effective EPT burden. Mechanism tests suggest that environmental information disclosure—proxied by the issuance of a standalone environmental report—serves as an important channel in this relationship: green-experienced CEOs are more likely to promote environmental reporting, which is associated with a lower effective tax burden. A battery of robustness checks, including alternative measures of CEO green experience and restricting the sample to the post-2018 period, supports the stability of the main results. Heterogeneity analyses further suggest that the association is stronger among highly educated CEOs, large firms, and firms in heavily polluting industries. The findings highlight the role of executive characteristics and disclosure institutions in shaping firm-level responses to market-based environmental regulation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Open Innovation, Circular Economy and Sustainable Green Business: Current Issues and Future Perspectives)
25 pages, 606 KB  
Article
Integration of Informatization and Industrialization and Corporate ESG Performance: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in China
by Shanshan Lyu, Mingzeng Yang and Qincheng Zhang
Sustainability 2026, 18(7), 3393; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18073393 - 1 Apr 2026
Viewed by 382
Abstract
Integration of informatization and industrialization (IoII) is a pivotal sustainable strategy in China, aimed at industrial modernization and high-quality economic development, which accelerates enterprise digitalization. This paper explores the economic impacts of China’s integration of informatization and industrialization (IoII) policy on enterprises’ environmental, [...] Read more.
Integration of informatization and industrialization (IoII) is a pivotal sustainable strategy in China, aimed at industrial modernization and high-quality economic development, which accelerates enterprise digitalization. This paper explores the economic impacts of China’s integration of informatization and industrialization (IoII) policy on enterprises’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, a core indicator of corporate sustainability. Employing the quasi-natural experiment setting offered by the pilot policy of “Integration of Informatization and Industrialization (IoII)” in China, this paper explores the effects of the IoII on corporate ESG performance through effect analysis, mechanism identification, and heterogeneity test, utilizing the data from A-share listed companies in China. Using the difference-in-differences (DID) analysis, the results suggest that the IoII significantly contributes to improving corporate ESG performance, primarily driven by improvements in the environmental (E) and governance (G) dimensions, while the social (S) dimension is not significantly affected, thereby enhancing long-term sustainability competitiveness. The findings from the mechanism identification indicate that the IoII can promote corporate ESG performance through the three mechanisms: green innovation, corporate governance, and information transparency, all of which underpin sustainable operational practices. The heterogeneity tests reveal that the IoII promotes corporate ESG performance more effectively in high-tech enterprises, non-SOEs, and enterprises with low growth rates, implying differentiated paths for sustainability-driven digital upgrading. By linking industrial digital integration with corporate sustainability, this study enriches the understanding of ESG determinants and provides meaningful implications for sustainability-oriented digital transformation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Open Innovation, Circular Economy and Sustainable Green Business: Current Issues and Future Perspectives)
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18 pages, 1619 KB  
Article
A Decision Support System for Sustainable Circular Economy Transition in Italian Historical Small Towns: The H-SMA-CE Project
by Giuseppe Ioppolo, Grazia Calabrò, Giuseppe Caristi, Cristina Ciliberto, Ilaria Russo, Luisa De Simone, Antonio Lopes and Roberta Arbolino
Sustainability 2026, 18(7), 3302; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18073302 - 28 Mar 2026
Viewed by 453
Abstract
Historical small towns (HSTs) embody irreplaceable cultural heritage and territorial identity, facing depopulation, economic marginalization, and infrastructure decay. Improving their liveability and attractiveness is essential to reverse these trends and boost sustainable development. In this context, HSTs are potential drivers of circular and [...] Read more.
Historical small towns (HSTs) embody irreplaceable cultural heritage and territorial identity, facing depopulation, economic marginalization, and infrastructure decay. Improving their liveability and attractiveness is essential to reverse these trends and boost sustainable development. In this context, HSTs are potential drivers of circular and sustainable socio-technical systems, where the circular economy (CE) offers a framework for local sustainability. However, HSTs lack adequate sustainable CE implementation tools. This study, the culmination of the H-SMA-CE project, develops a Decision Support System (DSS) to assist local policymakers in planning CE transitions in Italian HSTs. The DSS integrates three building blocks: context analysis (metabolic flows, stakeholder networks), an intervention library with cost–benefit data, and a composite Municipal Circular Economy Index (MCEI). The tool enables users to assess baseline circularity, simulate scenarios, and identify optimal investment portfolios through multi-objective optimization. This approach allows for the simultaneous evaluation of the benefits of each sustainability aspect, i.e., environmental, economic and social. Tested on the municipality of Taurasi (Italy), an HST with a wine-based economy, the results show that balanced intervention strategies yield greater circularity improvements than single-objective approaches. The paper contributes to the discourse on digital tools for sustainability transitions, offering a replicable model for evidence-based CE governance in heritage-rich territorial contexts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Open Innovation, Circular Economy and Sustainable Green Business: Current Issues and Future Perspectives)
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