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What are the drivers of eco-innovation? Empirical evidence from French start-ups

Author

Listed:
  • Rafik Abdesselam

    (COACTIS - COnception de l'ACTIon en Situation - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UJM - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne)

  • Malia Kedjar

    (LARSH - Laboratoire de Recherche Sociétés & Humanités - UPHF - Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France - INSA Hauts-De-France - INSA Institut National des Sciences Appliquées Hauts-de-France - INSA - Institut National des Sciences Appliquées)

  • Patricia Renou-Maissant

    (EconomiX - EconomiX - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to identify the drivers of eco-innovation in start-ups. Firstly, a discriminant analysis (DA) is applied to study what is distinctive about eco-innovative start-ups as compared to non-eco-innovative start-ups. Secondly, a typology of eco-innovative start-ups is developed using a hierarchical ascendant clustering (HAC). Analyses are carried out using original data from a survey of 120 eco-innovative and non-ecoinnovative French start-ups. Discriminant analyses reveal that the founders of eco-innovative start-ups are differentiated by characteristics related to their environmental education and professional experience. Furthermore, eco-innovative start-ups are distinguished from the non-eco-innovative start-ups by voluntary environmental practices, such as the adoption of corporate social responsibility policies. Finally, we show that there is a diversity of profiles of eco-innovators. In fact, firms cluster into five main profiles and exhibit different eco-innovation drivers. We highlight that the different types of eco-innovators do not face the same difficulties in accessing funds. These findings have important implications for the implementation of public policy designed to promote eco-innovative activity, and they highlight the need to design policies that take into account the distinctive character of each profile.

Suggested Citation

  • Rafik Abdesselam & Malia Kedjar & Patricia Renou-Maissant, 2024. "What are the drivers of eco-innovation? Empirical evidence from French start-ups," Post-Print hal-04304153, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04304153
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122953
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04304153
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    Keywords

    Eco-innovation Start-ups typology Data analysis methods;

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