The relationship between sustainable innovation and product or service innovation: a survey in companies in Rio Grande do Sul

Purpose - Environmental problems and natural resources scarcity are changing contemporary organizations management. The current society quest sustainable companies, mostly concern with the consumption and efficient management of natural resources; those innovative and sustainable companies have the capacity to create innovations and beneficial outcomes for the environment and society. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relevance of sustainable innovation on products and services innovation, in companies in the northern region of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil). Design/methodology/approach - In the research, the authors applied a descriptive and quantitative method, through exploratory factor analysis (EFA), with the use of varimax rotation and multiple linear regression. The final sample of the survey consists of 107 respondents. Findings - The results indicate that sustainable innovation (SI) has an influence on products and services innovations in the organizations, moreover the process innovations can provide reduced energy consumption and waste emissions, indicating the awareness regarding the environmental issues. Research limitations/implications - It is emphasized that environmental issues must be linked to investments in environmental education projects in organizations, thus enabling a systemic and effective vision on this issue. Practical implications - This research presents managerial and academic contributions, as it has developed a scale to measure the importance of SI on products and services innovation. Originality/value - The study developed a measurement model, with observable variables based on the specialized literature. The measurement model consists of the constructs of product/service innovation and SI, which were statistically validated through the tests of normality, reliability and EFA.