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Innovation Management and Organizational Performance for Sustainable Future—2nd Edition
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Innovation Management and Organizational Performance for Sustainable Future—2nd Edition

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 February 2026 | Viewed by 7081

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Alina Badulescu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Economics and Business, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Oradea, 410087 Oradea, Romania
Interests: innovation; sustainability; entrepreneurship; energy economy; energy policy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In economic development and business organization, sustainability has become a topic of major interest for scholars, policy makers, and practitionners all over the world. One key driver for the promotion of sustainability is represented by innovation in products and processes. The concept of a “triple bottom line” has highllighted three dimensions—the economic, the social, and the environmental—that must be considered in all economic activities. Consequently, innovative practices must come to focus on reconciling the financial and economic performance of companies with the broader social and ecological interests of the people. This is not a simple task to achieve given the complex and dynamic nature of innovation, and the adoption and implementation of sustainable performance in the economy requires continuous processes of innovation and adjustement to the constantly changing environment.

Green innovation, eco-innovation, sustainable innovation, etc., are relatively recent concepts describing the nature of the innovative processes that drive the economy. The progress of new technologies and advances in digitalization enable more innovation, but they also create fresh concerns and challenges for society.

In this context, this Special Issue welcomes conceptual and empirical articles, including reviews and short communications, oriented towards investigating the complex nexus between innovation, performance, and sustainability at all levels of management.

Prof. Dr. Alina Badulescu
Guest Editor

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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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

  • green innovation
  • sustainable innovation
  • sustainable performance
  • innovation management
  • economic, social, and envionmental performance
  • sustainable development
  • challenges in sustainable development
  • technologies for innovation

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 563 KiB  
Article
Making Sustained Green Innovation in Firms Happen: The Role of CEO Openness
by Li Liu, Wenxiu Hu, Fangyun Wang and Li Yang
Sustainability 2025, 17(11), 5098; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17115098 - 2 Jun 2025
Viewed by 417
Abstract
Sustained green innovation in firms is a crucial driver of sustainable economic development. Chief executive officer (CEO) openness, as a key personality trait related to leadership effectiveness, has an important but largely overlooked impact on sustained green innovation. This study aims to explore [...] Read more.
Sustained green innovation in firms is a crucial driver of sustainable economic development. Chief executive officer (CEO) openness, as a key personality trait related to leadership effectiveness, has an important but largely overlooked impact on sustained green innovation. This study aims to explore the impact of CEO openness on sustained green innovation and its boundary conditions. Using data from Chinese A-share-listed firms between 2011 and 2023, we find that CEO openness has a significant positive impact on sustained green innovation in firms. The moderating effects reveal that both digitalization level and CEO shareholding strengthen the positive effect of CEO openness on sustained green innovation. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that this positive effect is more pronounced in state-owned enterprises, firms in non-heavily polluting industries, and those with high analyst coverage. These findings provide theoretical support for understanding the determinants of sustained green innovation through the lens of CEO personality. They also enrich the growing literature on the impact of CEO openness on corporate decision-making. Furthermore, this study recommends that firms prioritize CEO openness in selection, enhance digital infrastructure, and improve equity incentive measures to ultimately foster sustained green innovation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation Management and Organizational Performance for Sustainable Future—2nd Edition)
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23 pages, 501 KiB  
Article
Human Capital to Implement Corporate Sustainability Business Strategies for Common Good
by Sugumar Mariappanadar
Sustainability 2025, 17(10), 4559; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17104559 - 16 May 2025
Viewed by 493
Abstract
The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS, 2023) guidelines have indicated the importance of holistic organisational sustainability values (profit, people, and planet) and the required human capital to implement sustainability business strategies to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs). This empirical research using the strategic [...] Read more.
The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS, 2023) guidelines have indicated the importance of holistic organisational sustainability values (profit, people, and planet) and the required human capital to implement sustainability business strategies to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs). This empirical research using the strategic choice and sustainable human resource management resource-based theories explores the role of high-performance sustainable work practices (HPSWPs) with sustainability characteristics to shape the required human capital to implement simultaneous environmental, social, and governance (ESG) corporate sustainability business strategies aligned with the organisational sustainability orientation of firms. A total of 203 senior managers from Australian companies participated in this study. The participants completed survey questionnaires, which encompass the holistic organisational sustainability orientation, corporate sustainability business strategy, and high-performance sustainable work practices. The mediation study findings revealed that the social consciousness, stakeholder compassion, ethics of care for wellbeing, and pro-environment characteristics of high-performance sustainable work practices fully mediate the implementation of ESG corporate sustainability business strategies that are aligned with the holistic organisational sustainability orientation. This exploratory research extends the operational strategic choice theory from the sustainable human resource management resource-based perspective in highlighting the role of high-performance sustainable work practices in implementing the choice of environmental, social, and governance (financial) business strategies. Furthermore, the practical implications include improving the quality of voluntary sustainability disclosure by companies in alignment with the IFRS guidelines on management approaches relating to human resource practices to shape the required human capital with sustainability characteristics for corporate sustainability. Future empirical research directions in operationalising simultaneous ESG corporate sustainability business strategies using high-performance sustainable work practices aligned with the holistic sustainability orientation of firms are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation Management and Organizational Performance for Sustainable Future—2nd Edition)
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24 pages, 691 KiB  
Article
The U-Shaped Effect of Non-CEO Executives’ Internal Governance on Corporate Innovation Investment: Evidence from China
by Fangyun Wang, Wenxiu Hu and Li Liu
Sustainability 2025, 17(9), 4039; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17094039 - 30 Apr 2025
Viewed by 418
Abstract
Against the backdrop of the increasingly salient constraints of resource scarcity and environmental pressures on global economic development, sustainable innovation emerges as an imperative strategic pathway for corporations to secure a competitive edge in the international marketplace. Corporate innovation capability serves as the [...] Read more.
Against the backdrop of the increasingly salient constraints of resource scarcity and environmental pressures on global economic development, sustainable innovation emerges as an imperative strategic pathway for corporations to secure a competitive edge in the international marketplace. Corporate innovation capability serves as the critical factor for both the advancement of sustainable innovation and the maintenance of the corporate competitive edge. While the extant literature has extensively explored how internal and external governance mechanism forces shape corporate investment decision-making, the critical role of non-CEO executives in the process of corporate innovation investment decision-making remains conspicuously underexplored. This study examines the effect of bottom–up governance mechanisms within executive teams on corporate innovation investment from the perspective of non-CEO executive independence. We used a sample of A-listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2007 to 2021 for empirical tests. We found a U-shaped relation between non-CEO executive independence and corporate innovation investment, and this finding still held after addressing endogeneity issues and conducting a series of robustness tests. Mechanism analysis revealed that both non-CEO executives’ decision horizon and firm agency costs positively moderate this U-shaped relationship. This U-shaped effect is pronounced in firms with lower CEO power, lower levels of corporate governance, and non-state-owned firms. Our findings provide an important basis for clarifying the internal governance mechanism of the executive teams while offering new insights for optimizing the allocation of corporate resources and promoting corporate innovation from the perspective of improving corporate governance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation Management and Organizational Performance for Sustainable Future—2nd Edition)
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22 pages, 1317 KiB  
Article
The Mediating Role of Green Innovation and Environmental Performance in the Effect of Green Transformational Leadership on Sustainable Competitive Advantage
by Bulent Demir, Mehmet Alper Akdemir, Arzu Ugurlu Kara, Murat Sagbas, Yasar Sahin and Ethem Topcuoglu
Sustainability 2025, 17(4), 1407; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17041407 - 9 Feb 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2448
Abstract
Owing to global warming and changing environmental factors, the world has been experiencing negative and major changes. Society is showing a strong reaction to these environmental problems through marches, protests, and political initiatives, which also demonstrate the need for a new understanding of [...] Read more.
Owing to global warming and changing environmental factors, the world has been experiencing negative and major changes. Society is showing a strong reaction to these environmental problems through marches, protests, and political initiatives, which also demonstrate the need for a new understanding of leadership. In this respect, green transformational leadership emerges as a potential solution. The current study aims to determine the mediating role of green innovation and environmental performance in the effect of green transformational leadership on sustainable competitive advantage. With this aim, a model was formed by utilizing the Natural Resource-Based View (NRBV) theory. To test the model, data were collected through a survey answered by 412 people working in SMEs in Istanbul and analyzed via the Smart-PLS program. The results indicate that green innovation had a moderate mediating role, and environmental performance had a low mediating role in the effect of green transformational leadership on sustainable competitive advantage. In light of these results, the sustainable competitive advantage predicted by the NRBV theory was found to have been achieved. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation Management and Organizational Performance for Sustainable Future—2nd Edition)
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16 pages, 578 KiB  
Article
From Technological Integration to Sustainable Innovation: How Diversified Mergers and Acquisitions Portfolios Catalyze Breakthrough Technologies
by Xueguo Xu, Hetong Yuan and Xue Lei
Sustainability 2024, 16(24), 10915; https://doi.org/10.3390/su162410915 - 12 Dec 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1994
Abstract
Against the backdrop of intensifying global technological competition and sustainable development challenges, achieving breakthroughs in core technologies has become a significant challenge for Chinese enterprises. While existing research indicates that technological Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) serve as a crucial pathway for acquiring external [...] Read more.
Against the backdrop of intensifying global technological competition and sustainable development challenges, achieving breakthroughs in core technologies has become a significant challenge for Chinese enterprises. While existing research indicates that technological Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) serve as a crucial pathway for acquiring external innovation resources, the previous literature often examines acquisition events in isolation, overlooking potential synergistic effects among multiple acquisitions implemented within specific periods. Drawing on knowledge recombination theory, this study examines the innovative effects of diversified technological M&A portfolios. We argue that under the dual pressures of digital transformation and sustainable development, enterprises can establish multidimensional knowledge foundations and trigger cross-domain recombination of knowledge elements through implementing different types of technological acquisitions, thereby catalyzing transformative breakthrough innovations that fundamentally reshape technological trajectories that contribute to sustainable competitive advantages. Based on acquisition and patent data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2022, our findings reveal that diversified technological M&A portfolios significantly promote breakthrough innovation through three mechanisms: knowledge distance optimization, cognitive schema reconstruction, and complementarity of innovation elements. Further analysis indicates that this effect is more pronounced in companies with Chief Science Officers (CSOs) and high-tech enterprise qualifications. This research not only enriches theoretical research on technological M&As and innovation management but also provides new practical insights for enterprises seeking to achieve sustainable breakthrough innovations through strategic acquisition deployment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation Management and Organizational Performance for Sustainable Future—2nd Edition)
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