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What Should SMEs Consider to Introduce Environmentally Innovative Products to Market?

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  • Daegyu Yang

    (School of Management, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Korea)

Abstract

In recent years, companies are challenged not only to develop market competencies but also to deal with environmental issues. Unlike larger companies equipped with abundant resources and sustainable capabilities, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are under relatively constrained conditions to effectively deal with environmental concerns as well as market demands. This study attempts to examine a set of potential factors by which SMEs can overcome such limited conditions and bring novel and environmentally beneficial products to market through their innovative activities. Organization theories, such as organizational learning, social network theory, and new-institutional theory, provide a theoretical framework for this study that SMEs may utilize their resources and capabilities from internal, external, and institutional domains. The hypotheses are tested using the Korea Innovation Survey 2010. The analyses show that the likelihood of the market introduction of new and environmentally innovative products is increased not only when an SME makes more monetary investments on internal innovative activities and experiences more success in general innovation activities, but also when an SME inputs more monetary investments into the search for technological knowledge from the outside and utilizes more diverse external information sources. Interestingly, the findings demonstrate that monetary support from the government do not have significant impacts on an SME’s environmental innovation, while a non-monetary technological support system operated by government raises the likelihood of the market introduction of new and environmentally innovative products. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Daegyu Yang, 2019. "What Should SMEs Consider to Introduce Environmentally Innovative Products to Market?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:4:p:1117-:d:207730
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Pei‐Ju Wu & Chun‐Kai Yang, 2021. "Sustainable development in aviation logistics: Successful drivers and business strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 3763-3771, December.
    4. Shiyong Zheng & Xinsen Ye & Weili Guan & Yuping Yang & Jiaying Li & Biqing Li, 2022. "Assessing the Influence of Green Innovation on the Market Performance of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-14, October.
    5. Carlos Fernandez-Jardon & Xavier Martinez-Cobas & Fabian Martinez-Ortiz, 2020. "Technology and Culture in Subsistence Small Businesses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-13, November.
    6. Magdalena Kowalska, 2022. "Conceptualization of Sustainable Marketing Tools among SME Managers in Selected Countries in Poland and Sri Lanka," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-17, May.

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