Eco-Innovations (EI) bring benefits to the environment and companies and hence provide a
win-win situation for both of them (Horbach, 2008). El may focus on a whole life cycle of
products, processes, etc. in order to release less harmful substances and take care of the
environment by reducing environmental impact (Fraj-Andres et al., 2009; EIO, 2010 in EIO,
2013; Angelo et al., 2012; and Horbach et al., 2012). While on the other hand, by implementing
El, companies strengthen their competitive advantage (Shrivastava, 1995; Tien et al., 2005;
Chen et al., 2006; Triebswetter and Wackerbauer, 2008; Fraj-Andres et al., 2009; Ar, 2012; Hofer
et al., 2012; Mourad and Ahmed, 2012; Wong, 2012; Leonidou et al., 2013; and Robinson and
Stubberud, 2013). Among the most common benefits from companies’ successful
implementation of El are the positive effects on: eco-efficiency (Mourad and Ahmed, 2012),
expansion on foreign markets and export performance (Beise and Rennings, 2005; Gurau and
Ranchhod, 2005; Martin-Tapia et al., 2008 and 2010; Cassiman and Golovko, 2011; Aguilera-
Caracuel et al., 2012; and D’Angelo et al., 2013), company’s reputation (Shrivastava, 1995),
company performance (Clemens, 2006; Zeng et al., 2011; Doran and Ryan, 2012; Cheng et al.,
2013; Cruz-Cazares et al., 2013; and Rexhauser and Rammer, 2013), sustainable growth in
domestic and international markets (European Commission, 2012) and many others.
The motives which steer companies and clusters towards implementing EIs have also
been discussed. Hence researchers (Eiadat et al., 2008; and Hillestad et al., 2010) suggested
that the integration of corporate social responsibility and environmental awareness in
company’s business strategy may lead to enhanced reputational advantages. Holtbrugge and
Dogl (2012) added that environmental awareness and improved company’s reputation can
indirectly affect company’s gain of competitive advantage.
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