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The Impact of Environmentally Friendly Innovations on Value Added

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  • Christian Soltmann
  • Tobias Stucki
  • Martin Woerter

Abstract

While recent literature has focused on explaining the determinants of green innovations, it is not well understood how such innovations affect performance. To analyse the relationship between green innovation and performance, new industry-level panel data were exploited: these include 12 OECD countries, the whole manufacturing sector and a period of 30 years. The results show that green inventions are U-shape related to performance. However, the turning point is quite high and hence only relevant for a few industries. This indicates that—given the current level of green promotion—market incentives alone are not sufficient to allow the green invention activities of industries to rise considerably. To verify these results and to get a better understanding of the mechanisms in the green market, we finally made several interviews with multinational firms that have a good understanding of what happens on the global market of green innovation. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Soltmann & Tobias Stucki & Martin Woerter, 2015. "The Impact of Environmentally Friendly Innovations on Value Added," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 62(3), pages 457-479, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:62:y:2015:i:3:p:457-479
    DOI: 10.1007/s10640-014-9824-6
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    2. Tobias Stucki & Martin Woerter, 2019. "Competitive Pressure and Diversification into Green R&D," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 55(2), pages 301-325, September.
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    5. Marius Ley, Tobias Stucki, and Martin Woerter, 2016. "The Impact of Energy Prices on Green Innovation," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 1).
    6. Beltrán-Esteve, Mercedes & Picazo-Tadeo, Andrés J., 2017. "Assessing environmental performance in the European Union: Eco-innovation versus catching-up," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 240-252.
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    8. Jens Horbach & Christian Rammer, 2020. "Circular economy innovations, growth and employment at the firm level: Empirical evidence from Germany," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 24(3), pages 615-625, June.
    9. Massimiliano Mazzanti & Francesco Nicolli & Stefano Pareglio & Marco Quatrosi, 2022. "Adoption of Eco and Circular Economy-Innovation in Italy: exploring different firm profiles," Working Papers 2022.06, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    10. Elisenda Jové-Llopis & Agustí Segarra-Blasco, 2018. "Eco-Efficiency Actions and Firm Growth in European SMEs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-26, January.
    11. Philip Kerner & Torben Klarl & Tobias Wendler, 2021. "Green Technologies, Environmental Policy and Regional Growth," Bremen Papers on Economics & Innovation 2104, University of Bremen, Faculty of Business Studies and Economics.
    12. Antonioli, Davide & Ghisetti, Claudia & Mazzanti, Massimiliano & Nicolli, Francesco, 2022. "The economic returns of circular economy practices," FEEM Working Papers 319761, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    13. Bettina Becker, 2023. "Green Innovation Strategies, Innovation Success, and Firm Performance—Evidence from a Panel of Spanish Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-11, January.
    14. Tobias Stucki & Daniel Wochner, 2019. "Technological and organizational capital: Where complementarities exist," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 458-487, June.
    15. Stucki, Tobias & Woerter, Martin & Arvanitis, Spyros & Peneder, Michael & Rammer, Christian, 2018. "How different policy instruments affect green product innovation: A differentiated perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 245-261.
    16. Horbach, Jens & Rammer, Christian, 2019. "Employment and performance effects of circular economy innovations," ZEW Discussion Papers 19-016, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    17. Spyros Arvanitis & Michael Peneder & Christian Rammer & Tobias Stucki & Martin Wörter, 2016. "Development and Utilization of Energy-related Technologies, Economic Performance and the Role of Policy Instruments," KOF Working papers 16-419, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich.
    18. Stucki, Tobias & Woerter, Martin, 2019. "The private returns to knowledge: A comparison of ICT, biotechnologies, nanotechnologies, and green technologies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 62-81.
    19. Hua, Qian & Liu, Gang & Sun, Di & Zhu, Licai, 2022. "Spatial effects of technology market development on energy efficiency: Heterogeneity analysis based on the characteristics of technology market," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    20. Marco Bertoni, 2017. "Introducing Sustainability in Value Models to Support Design Decision Making: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-31, June.
    21. Kruse, Juergen, 2016. "Innovation in Green Energy Technologies and the Economic Performance of Firms," EWI Working Papers 2016-2, Energiewirtschaftliches Institut an der Universitaet zu Koeln (EWI).
    22. Tobias Stucki & Martin Woerter, 2017. "Green Inventions: Is Wait-and-see a Reasonable Option?," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 4).
    23. Horbach, Jens, 2016. "The impact of resource efficiency measures on performance in small and medium-sized enterprises," Ruhr Economic Papers 643, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    24. Hanyuan Liang & Guangliang Li & Weikun Zhang & Zhe Chen, 2022. "The Impact of Green Innovation on Enterprise Performance: The Regulatory Role of Government Grants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-17, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Innovation; R&D; Patents; Environment; Technological change; Performance; O30; O34; Q55;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation

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