This paper investigates the impact of eco-innovation, i.e., innovations aimed at improving firms’ environmental performances, and environmental policy stringency on firms’ growth processes, with a special focus on gazelles, i.e., firms that show higher than average growth rates. In a context shaped by more and more stringent environmental regulatory frameworks, we posit that inducement mechanisms and the regulatory push/pull effect expand the derived demand for eco-innovations suppliers. For these reasons, we expect a positive association between the generation of EIs and sales growth, which is magnified by increasing policy stringency. The empirical analysis is based on firm-level data drawn from the Bureau van Dijk Database, coupled with patent information obtained from OECD Science and Technology Indicators. The results confirm that eco-innovations are likely to augment the effects of generic innovation on firm growth, and this is particularly true for gazelles. Policy stringency is important in moderating the effects of eco-innovation on growth for gazelles, but even more so for slow-growing firms.

Firms’ growth, green gazelles and eco-innovation: evidence from a sample of European firms

Colombelli A.;Krafft J.;Quatraro F.
2021-01-01

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of eco-innovation, i.e., innovations aimed at improving firms’ environmental performances, and environmental policy stringency on firms’ growth processes, with a special focus on gazelles, i.e., firms that show higher than average growth rates. In a context shaped by more and more stringent environmental regulatory frameworks, we posit that inducement mechanisms and the regulatory push/pull effect expand the derived demand for eco-innovations suppliers. For these reasons, we expect a positive association between the generation of EIs and sales growth, which is magnified by increasing policy stringency. The empirical analysis is based on firm-level data drawn from the Bureau van Dijk Database, coupled with patent information obtained from OECD Science and Technology Indicators. The results confirm that eco-innovations are likely to augment the effects of generic innovation on firm growth, and this is particularly true for gazelles. Policy stringency is important in moderating the effects of eco-innovation on growth for gazelles, but even more so for slow-growing firms.
2021
56
4
1721
1738
Eco-innovation; Firms’ growth; Gazelles; Inducement mechanisms; Regulatory push/pull
Colombelli A.; Krafft J.; Quatraro F.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2318/1840872
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