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Sustainability
Special Issues
Strategy, Innovation and Environmental Sustainability in Value Chains
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Strategy, Innovation and Environmental Sustainability in Value Chains

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2020) | Viewed by 23925

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Eleonora Di Maria

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Economics and Management; University of Padova, Padova, Italy
Interests: strategy and environmental sustainability; digital manufacturing; international business and global value chains; industrial districts; KIBS
Dr. Valentina De Marchi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Economics and Management; University of Padova, Padova, Italy
Interests: environmental innovations; circular economy; global value chain; internationalization; industrial districts

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will comprise a selection of papers that address both theoretically and empirically the multifaceted impacts of environmental sustainability on how firms develop strategies and design and manage innovation in value chains. Research papers dealing with this relationship may take into account the following:

(1) the impact of environmental sustainability on business models and on value creation (upgrading);

(2) organizational forms and activities that might support jointly social and environmental sustainability;

(3) the role of technologies (digital technologies, industry 4.0 technologies) in supporting firm’ strategies shaped by environmental goals;

(4) how innovation processes within and across organizations are affected by environmental sustainability;

(5) the premises and consequences of sustainability, upgrading, and innovation at the level of value chains at the different geographical scales.

Covered topics refer to the identification of factors affecting strategic decisions including environmental sustainability, and the relevant factors for environmentally oriented innovation and relationships among them—i.e., within and across organizations, concerning the best way to capture and measure value creation and appropriation related to environmental sustainability. Papers selected for this Special Issue are subject to a rigorous peer review procedure with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications.

Dr. Eleonora Di Maria
Dr. Valentina De Marchi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainability strategies and business models
  • environmentally oriented innovation
  • environmental upgrading
  • sustainability in global value chains
  • digital technology and sustainability

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 681 KiB  
Article
Green Co-Creation Strategies among Supply Chain Partners: A Value Co-Creation Perspective
by Genzhu Li, Xianliang Shi, Yefei Yang and Peter K. C. Lee
Sustainability 2020, 12(10), 4305; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12104305 - 25 May 2020
Cited by 31 | Viewed by 5142
Abstract
In response to the global fight against environmental deterioration and resource shortage, many governments call on firms to implement green innovation strategies. However, for most small and medium-sized firms, the high cost of green innovation makes it difficult to achieve green goals, causing [...] Read more.
In response to the global fight against environmental deterioration and resource shortage, many governments call on firms to implement green innovation strategies. However, for most small and medium-sized firms, the high cost of green innovation makes it difficult to achieve green goals, causing the need for a growing number of firms to cooperate with their supply chain partners on green innovations. Thus, this study explores, from a value co-creation perspective, how supply chain partners share the investment in, and benefits of, green innovation, assuring their long-term cooperation. Based on a three-level manufacturing supply chain, this paper proposes three different types of green co-creation strategies (i.e., the manufacturer and its supplier, the manufacturer and its competitor, the manufacturer and its retailer). We set the mechanism of co-creation to share the cost of green investment and consider the impact of co-creation on the sales of supply chain partners. Then, by constructing the value functions of three co-creation strategies and proving the concavity of these functions, the findings indicate that different co-creation strategies can indeed improve the firm’s profit in a certain range and achieve a different maximum value in a certain green investment sharing point. This study enriches the literature on green co-creation in supply chains by combing green investment sharing strategies among supply chain partners with value co-creation. In addition, this study provides manufacturers with guidelines on how to share green costs and choose a green co-creation strategy in different operational environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategy, Innovation and Environmental Sustainability in Value Chains)
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24 pages, 1668 KiB  
Article
Open Innovation as a Value Chain for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Determinants of the Use of Open Innovation
by Robert Stanisławski
Sustainability 2020, 12(8), 3290; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083290 - 17 Apr 2020
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 5896
Abstract
The concept of open innovation is currently one of the key issues regarding the innovative development of micro, small, and medium enterprises (SMEs). It has been the subject of research both in the theoretical and empirical context. At present, there is no unambiguous [...] Read more.
The concept of open innovation is currently one of the key issues regarding the innovative development of micro, small, and medium enterprises (SMEs). It has been the subject of research both in the theoretical and empirical context. At present, there is no unambiguous definition conceptualizing the conceptual scope of open innovation (OI). However, enterprises do not always decide by themselves to be open to the environment. Therefore, determinants are important, as they encourage enterprises to greater openness, which can be treated as a key element of a value chain for SMEs, contributing to their innovative development. Classification of these determinants (also named as factors) is very poor in the literature. Generally, internal and external determinants are identified. Authors decide on the selection of these factors and their division by themselves. The research presented in this article has indicated the existence of several significant regularities. Firstly, larger entities are more likely to use the OI concept. Secondly, market determinants are the most important for the use of OI among SMEs. Thirdly, both internal and external determinants have a huge impact on the application of the OI concept, with external determinants being more significant for smaller rather than larger entities. The conclusions drawn were a consequence of the assumed aim of the article: The assessment of the influence of determinants that affect the use of the OI concept among SMEs in Poland. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategy, Innovation and Environmental Sustainability in Value Chains)
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17 pages, 1898 KiB  
Article
Environmental Upgrading and Suppliers’ Agency in the Leather Global Value Chain
by Valentina De Marchi and Eleonora Di Maria
Sustainability 2019, 11(23), 6530; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11236530 - 20 Nov 2019
Cited by 40 | Viewed by 6859
Abstract
The paper explores the role of suppliers in the process of environmental upgrading (EnvU) within global value chains (GVCs). Theoretical contributions to EnvU have highlighted, in particular, the role of global buyers in supporting the EnvU of products and processes, while limited attention [...] Read more.
The paper explores the role of suppliers in the process of environmental upgrading (EnvU) within global value chains (GVCs). Theoretical contributions to EnvU have highlighted, in particular, the role of global buyers in supporting the EnvU of products and processes, while limited attention has been given to suppliers as proactive actors within GVCs. This paper approaches EnvU through the lens of innovation and focuses on the agency of suppliers. Through the analysis of innovations developed within the leather GVC, with a special focus on the Arzignano cluster (Italy), the analysis shows how suppliers can autonomously develop sustainability strategies to maintain their competitiveness and achieve higher value in the GVC. However, results stress the limits of green strategies as buyers and suppliers do not share the same vision of how to foster sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategy, Innovation and Environmental Sustainability in Value Chains)
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20 pages, 744 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility on Service Innovation Performance: The Role of Dynamic Capability for Sustainability
by Lan Li, Gang Li, Fu-Sheng Tsai, Hsiu-Yu Lee and Chien-Hsing Lee
Sustainability 2019, 11(10), 2739; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11102739 - 14 May 2019
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 5476
Abstract
The effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on product and technological innovation have been thoroughly examined. However, the relationship between CSR and service innovation remains largely unexplored. We examined the relationship between community and environmental CSR and service innovation performance, with further exploration [...] Read more.
The effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on product and technological innovation have been thoroughly examined. However, the relationship between CSR and service innovation remains largely unexplored. We examined the relationship between community and environmental CSR and service innovation performance, with further exploration of the mediating mechanism between them. Based on social capital and dynamic capability theory, we developed a model revealing that CSR improves the performance of service innovation through an advanced dynamic capability to address rapidly changing environments. Through the use of structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression analyses, we tested the conceptual model with a data set of 298 small- and medium-sized enterprises in China. The results demonstrate that the positive influence of community CSR on service innovation performance is partially mediated by dynamic capability, whereas this effect of environmental CSR is fully mediated by dynamic capability. These findings have important implications for both CSR and service innovation practice and theory. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategy, Innovation and Environmental Sustainability in Value Chains)
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