IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i6p2261-d332333.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does Technological Innovation Drive Corporate Sustainability? Empirical Evidence for the European Financial Industry in Catching-Up and Central and Eastern Europe Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Francisca Sempere-Ripoll

    (Management Department, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 València, Spain)

  • Sofia Estelles-Miguel

    (Management Department, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 València, Spain)

  • Ronald Rojas-Alvarado

    (Gestión Organizacional, Universidad ICESI, Cl. 18 #122-135, Cali 760032, Colombia
    Escuela de Ciencias Básicas, Tecnología e Ingeniería, Universidad Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia, Bogota 110111, Colombia)

  • Jose-Luis Hervas-Oliver

    (Management Department, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 València, Spain
    Unidad Permanente de Investigación, ESIC Business & Marketing School, 28223 Madrid, Spain
    Industrial Engineering Department, Universidad de la Costa, Cl. 58 ##55–66, Barraquilla 080001, Colombia)

Abstract

In the financial industry, two relationships are well-researched: (i) innovation and financial performance and, (ii) sustainability and financial performance, both focused primarily on Western and advanced countries. The relationship between innovation and sustainability, however, is underresearched. This study’s purpose consists of determining whether there is a relationship between innovation and corporate sustainability in the financial industry. In doing so, this study responds to a critical question: are the most innovative firms also the most sustainability-oriented? We empirically explore sustainability-oriented innovation in the financial industry of 11 catching-up countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Using Community Innovation Survey (CIS) data for 2012–2014, this study empirically analyzes a large sample of 1574 firms in the financial industry. Our results suggest that innovation is positively linked to corporate sustainability, pointing out that innovation capabilities are positively related to sustainability. Our study proposes a framework for analyzing innovation and sustainability from a capability-perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Francisca Sempere-Ripoll & Sofia Estelles-Miguel & Ronald Rojas-Alvarado & Jose-Luis Hervas-Oliver, 2020. "Does Technological Innovation Drive Corporate Sustainability? Empirical Evidence for the European Financial Industry in Catching-Up and Central and Eastern Europe Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-19, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:6:p:2261-:d:332333
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/6/2261/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/6/2261/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Valerie R. Bencivenga & Bruce D. Smith, 1991. "Financial Intermediation and Endogenous Growth," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 195-209.
    2. Jose-Luis Hervas-Oliver & Francisca Sempere-Ripoll & Carles Boronat-Moll, 2014. "Process innovation strategy in SMEs, organizational innovation and performance: a misleading debate?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(4), pages 873-886, December.
    3. Evangelista, Rinaldo & Vezzani, Antonio, 2010. "The economic impact of technological and organizational innovations. A firm-level analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 1253-1263, December.
    4. Hsiang-Lin Chih & Hsiang-Hsuan Chih & Tzu-Yin Chen, 2010. "On the Determinants of Corporate Social Responsibility: International Evidence on the Financial Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 93(1), pages 115-135, April.
    5. René Kemp & Xander Olsthoorn & Frans Oosterhuis & Harmen Verbruggen, 1992. "Supply and demand factors of Cleaner technologies: Some empirical evidence," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 2(6), pages 615-634, November.
    6. José Albors-Garrigos & José L. Hervas-Oliver, 2011. "Making sense of innovation by R&D and non-R&D innovators in low technology contexts: a forgotten lesson for policymakers," Working Papers. Serie EC 2011-06, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    7. Justyna Dyduch & Joanna Krasodomska, 2017. "Determinants of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: An Empirical Study of Polish Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-24, October.
    8. Jose-Luis Hervas-Oliver & Francisca Sempere-Ripoll & Sofia Estelles-Miguel & Ronald Rojas-Alvarado, 2019. "Radical vs incremental innovation in Marshallian Industrial Districts in the Valencian Region: what prevails?," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(10), pages 1924-1939, October.
    9. Xueming Luo & Shuili Du, 2015. "Exploring the relationship between corporate social responsibility and firm innovation," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 26(4), pages 703-714, December.
    10. Apanasovich, Natalja & Alcalde Heras, Henar & Parrilli, Mario Davide, 2016. "The impact of business innovation modes on SME innovation performance in post-Soviet transition economies: The case of Belarus," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 57, pages 30-40.
    11. Qun Zhao & Pei-Hsuan Tsai & Jin-Long Wang, 2019. "Improving Financial Service Innovation Strategies for Enhancing China’s Banking Industry Competitive Advantage during the Fintech Revolution: A Hybrid MCDM Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-29, March.
    12. Markus Grillitsch & Teis Hansen, 2019. "Green industry development in different types of regions," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(11), pages 2163-2183, November.
    13. Wu, Meng-Wen & Shen, Chung-Hua, 2013. "Corporate social responsibility in the banking industry: Motives and financial performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 3529-3547.
    14. Olivier Furrer & Carolyn P. Egri & David A. Ralston & Wade M. Danis & Emmanuelle Reynaud & Irina Naoumova & Mario Molteni & Arunas Starkus & Fidel León Darder & Marina Dabic & Amandine Furrer-Perrinja, 2010. "Attitudes toward Corporate Responsibilities in Western Europe and in Central and East Europe," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 50(3), pages 379-398, June.
    15. Milgrom, Paul & Roberts, John, 1995. "Complementarities and fit strategy, structure, and organizational change in manufacturing," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2-3), pages 179-208, April.
    16. Amrou Awaysheh & Randall A. Heron & Tod Perry & Jared I. Wilson, 2020. "On the relation between corporate social responsibility and financial performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(6), pages 965-987, June.
    17. Heyman, Fredrik & Norbäck, Pehr-Johan & Persson, Lars & Andersson, Fredrik, 2019. "Has the Swedish business sector become more entrepreneurial than the US business sector?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(7), pages 1809-1822.
    18. David J. Teece & Gary Pisano & Amy Shuen, 1997. "Dynamic capabilities and strategic management," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(7), pages 509-533, August.
    19. Justyna Fijałkowska & Beata Zyznarska-Dworczak & Przemysław Garsztka, 2018. "Corporate Social-Environmental Performance versus Financial Performance of Banks in Central and Eastern European Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-22, March.
    20. De Marchi, Valentina, 2012. "Environmental innovation and R&D cooperation: Empirical evidence from Spanish manufacturing firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 614-623.
    21. Castellacci, Fulvio & Archibugi, Daniele, 2008. "The technology clubs: The distribution of knowledge across nations," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(10), pages 1659-1673, December.
    22. Marzucchi, Alberto & Montresor, Sandro, 2017. "Forms of knowledge and eco-innovation modes: Evidence from Spanish manufacturing firms," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 208-221.
    23. Jan W. Rivkin, 2000. "Imitation of Complex Strategies," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 46(6), pages 824-844, June.
    24. Bert Scholtens, 2009. "Corporate Social Responsibility in the International Banking Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 86(2), pages 159-175, May.
    25. Aija Leiponen & Constance E. Helfat, 2010. "Innovation objectives, knowledge sources, and the benefits of breadth," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 224-236, February.
    26. Laukkanen, Tommi, 2016. "Consumer adoption versus rejection decisions in seemingly similar service innovations: The case of the Internet and mobile banking," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(7), pages 2432-2439.
    27. Elisabeth Heidenreich, 2009. "Spaces of flow as technical and cultural mediators between society and nature," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 11(6), pages 1145-1154, December.
    28. Szczygielski, Krzysztof & Grabowski, Wojciech & Pamukcu, Mehmet Teoman & Tandogan, Vedat Sinan, 2017. "Does government support for private innovation matter? Firm-level evidence from two catching-up countries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 219-237.
    29. Bruno Cassiman & Reinhilde Veugelers, 2006. "In Search of Complementarity in Innovation Strategy: Internal R& D and External Knowledge Acquisition," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(1), pages 68-82, January.
    30. Christian Rammer & Dirk Czarnitzki & Alfred Spielkamp, 2009. "Innovation success of non-R&D-performers: substituting technology by management in SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 35-58, June.
    31. Linne Marie Lauesen, 2013. "CSR in the aftermath of the financial crisis," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 9(4), pages 641-663, September.
    32. Henk W. Volberda & Nicolai J. Foss & Marjorie A. Lyles, 2010. "PERSPECTIVE---Absorbing the Concept of Absorptive Capacity: How to Realize Its Potential in the Organization Field," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(4), pages 931-951, August.
    33. Park, Eunil & Kim, Ki Joon & Kwon, Sang Jib, 2017. "Corporate social responsibility as a determinant of consumer loyalty: An examination of ethical standard, satisfaction, and trust," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 8-13.
    34. Jay B. Barney, 1996. "The Resource-Based Theory of the Firm," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(5), pages 469-469, October.
    35. Amore, Mario Daniele & Schneider, Cédric & Žaldokas, Alminas, 2013. "Credit supply and corporate innovation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(3), pages 835-855.
    36. Orsatti, Gianluca & Quatraro, Francesco & Pezzoni, Michele, 2020. "The antecedents of green technologies: The role of team-level recombinant capabilities," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(3).
    37. Michael A. Urban & Dariusz Wójcik, 2019. "Dirty Banking: Probing the Gap in Sustainable Finance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-23, March.
    38. Nils Stieglitz & Klaus Heine, 2007. "Innovations and the role of complementarities in a strategic theory of the firm," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 1-15, January.
    39. Horbach, Jens, 2008. "Determinants of environmental innovation--New evidence from German panel data sources," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 163-173, February.
    40. Escribano, Alvaro & Fosfuri, Andrea & Tribó, Josep A., 2009. "Managing external knowledge flows: The moderating role of absorptive capacity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 96-105, February.
    41. Hsu, Po-Hsuan & Tian, Xuan & Xu, Yan, 2014. "Financial development and innovation: Cross-country evidence," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(1), pages 116-135.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jiao Feng & Nannan Wang & Guoshuai Sun, 2022. "Measurement of Innovation-Driven Development Performance of Large-Scale Environmental Protection Enterprises Investing in Public–Private Partnership Projects Based on the Hybrid Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-21, April.
    2. Vasja Roblek & Maja Meško & Mirjana Pejić Bach & Oshane Thorpe & Polona Šprajc, 2020. "The Interaction between Internet, Sustainable Development, and Emergence of Society 5.0," Data, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-27, September.
    3. Taneja, Shilpa & Ali, Liaqat, 2021. "Determinants of customers’ intentions towards environmentally sustainable banking: Testing the structural model," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    4. Marija Mosurović Ružičić & Mirjana Miletić & Marina Dobrota, 2021. "Does a National Innovation System Encourage Sustainability? Lessons from the Construction Industry in Serbia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-19, March.
    5. Guangying Xie & Shengyan Wu & Zhengjiang Song, 2022. "Focus on Innovation or Focus on Sales? The Influences of the Government of China’s Demand-Side Reform during COVID-19 and Their Sustainability Consequences in the Consumer Products Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-21, October.
    6. Joaquin Sanchez-Planelles & Marival Segarra-Oña & Angel Peiro-Signes, 2020. "Building a Theoretical Framework for Corporate Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-21, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hervas-Oliver, Jose-Luis & Sempere-Ripoll, Francisca & Boronat-Moll, Carles, 2021. "Technological innovation typologies and open innovation in SMEs: Beyond internal and external sources of knowledge," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    2. Francisco Javier Forcadell & Elisa Aracil & Fernando Úbeda, 2019. "The Influence of Innovation on Corporate Sustainability in the International Banking Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-15, June.
    3. Weidner, Nadia & Som, Oliver & Horvat, Djerdj, 2023. "An integrated conceptual framework for analysing heterogeneous configurations of absorptive capacity in manufacturing firms with the DUI innovation mode," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    4. Jose-Luis Hervas-Oliver & Francisca Ripoll-Sempere & Carles Boronat Moll, 2016. "Does management innovation pay-off in SMEs? Empirical evidence for Spanish SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 507-533, August.
    5. Hervas-Oliver, Jose-Luis & Parrilli, Mario Davide & Sempere-Ripoll, Francisca, 2021. "SME modes of innovation in European catching-up countries: The impact of STI and DUI drivers on technological innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    6. Caroline Danièle Mothe & Thuc Uyen Nguyen-Thi, 2017. "Persistent openness and environmental innovation: An empirical analysis of French manufacturing firms," Post-Print hal-01609129, HAL.
    7. Ester Martínez‐Ros & Rasi Kunapatarawong, 2019. "Green innovation and knowledge: The role of size," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 1045-1059, September.
    8. Marzucchi, Alberto & Montresor, Sandro, 2017. "Forms of knowledge and eco-innovation modes: Evidence from Spanish manufacturing firms," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 208-221.
    9. Enrique Acebo & José‐Ángel Miguel‐Dávila & Mariano Nieto, 2021. "External stakeholder engagement: Complementary and substitutive effects on firms' eco‐innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 2671-2687, July.
    10. O'Brien, Kieran, 2020. "Innovation types and the search for new ideas at the fuzzy front end: Where to look and how often?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 13-24.
    11. Hervas-Oliver, Jose-Luis & Sempere-Ripoll, Francisca & Arribas, Ivan, 2015. "Asymmetric modeling of organizational innovation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 2654-2662.
    12. Caroline Mothe & Uyen T. Nguyen-Thi & Ángela Triguero, 2018. "Innovative products and services with environmental benefits: design of search strategies for external knowledge and absorptive capacity," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 61(11), pages 1934-1954, September.
    13. Solnørdal, Mette Talseth & Thyholdt, Sverre Braathen, 2019. "Absorptive capacity and energy efficiency in manufacturing firms – An empirical analysis in Norway," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 978-990.
    14. Hervas-Oliver,Jose-Luis & Sempere-Ripoll,Francisca, 2014. "Agglomerations and firm performance: how does it work, who benefits and how much?," INGENIO (CSIC-UPV) Working Paper Series 201411, INGENIO (CSIC-UPV), revised 01 Dec 2014.
    15. Fernández, Sara & Torrecillas, Celia & Labra, Romilio Ernesto, 2021. "Drivers of eco-innovation in developing countries: the case of Chilean firms," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    16. MOTHE Caroline & NGUYEN Thi Thuc Uyen, 2016. "Openness and environmental innovation: Does time-horizon matter?," LISER Working Paper Series 2016-13, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).
    17. Nanditha Mathew & George Paily, 2022. "STI-DUI innovation modes and firm performance in the Indian capital goods industry: Do small firms differ from large ones?," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 435-458, April.
    18. repec:ipg:wpaper:2014-488 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Burcharth, Ana Luiza Lara de Araújo & Lettl, Christopher & Ulhøi, John Parm, 2015. "Extending organizational antecedents of absorptive capacity: Organizational characteristics that encourage experimentation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 90(PA), pages 269-284.
    20. Hervas-Oliver, Jose-Luis & Sempere-Ripoll, Francisca & Boronat-Moll, Carles, 2012. "Process innovation objectives and management complementarities: patterns, drivers, co-adoption and performance effects," MERIT Working Papers 2012-051, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    21. Dimakopoulou, A.G. & Gkypali, A. & Tsekouras, K., 2024. "Technological and non-technological innovation synergies under the lens of absorptive capacity efficiency," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:6:p:2261-:d:332333. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.