Green technology innovation is an important driving force for high-quality development in China. Recently, much attention has focused on the connotation, influencing factors and mode selection of ...green technology innovation, yet few studies have systematically tested the transmission paths between green technology innovation and economic performance. Green technology innovation can be divided into green process innovation and green product innovation, both of which can improve the environmental and economic performance of enterprises. Drawing on previous research, this study constructs a model of economic performance transmission for green technology innovation and upgrading, and conducts an empirical analysis based on data from 642 industrial enterprises in China. The results show that green process innovation and green product innovation can effectively improve the economic performance of enterprises. The environmental performance and market competitiveness of enterprises are important mediating variables in the paths of economic performance improvement. An enterprise's green process innovation can positively promote green product innovation, and there is also room for technological innovation upgrading. There are two main differences in the transmission paths for different types of green technology innovation: (1) Green process innovation can improve economic performance directly, whereas green product innovation can only do this indirectly; (2) In most cases, the path from green product innovation to economic performance is more important than that from green process innovation to economic performance. This study deepens understanding of the green technology innovation process and has implications for optimizing policy design for green development.
•A theoretical model of economic performance improvement of green technology innovation is constructed.•Conducts empirical analysis based on the data of 642 industrial enterprises in China.•Green process innovation can positively promote green product innovation.•Environmental performance and market competitiveness of enterprises are important meditation variables.•There are some differences in the transmission paths of different types of green technology innovation.
•An overview of the state-of-the-art in Electrical Energy Storage (EES) is provided.•A comprehensive analysis of various EES technologies is carried out.•An application potential analysis of the ...reviewed EES technologies is presented.•The presented synthesis to EES technologies can be used to support future R&D and deployment.
Electrical power generation is changing dramatically across the world because of the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to introduce mixed energy sources. The power network faces great challenges in transmission and distribution to meet demand with unpredictable daily and seasonal variations. Electrical Energy Storage (EES) is recognized as underpinning technologies to have great potential in meeting these challenges, whereby energy is stored in a certain state, according to the technology used, and is converted to electrical energy when needed. However, the wide variety of options and complex characteristic matrices make it difficult to appraise a specific EES technology for a particular application. This paper intends to mitigate this problem by providing a comprehensive and clear picture of the state-of-the-art technologies available, and where they would be suited for integration into a power generation and distribution system. The paper starts with an overview of the operation principles, technical and economic performance features and the current research and development of important EES technologies, sorted into six main categories based on the types of energy stored. Following this, a comprehensive comparison and an application potential analysis of the reviewed technologies are presented.
•This study shows the role of innovation in SME sustainable performance.•R&D and patent can advance sustainable performance, but efficiency cannot.•Innovation heterogeneously affects social, ...environmental and economic performance.•Social performance can mediate the linkage between innovation and economic performance•R&D helps improving returns of young firms, patent heightening revenues of Non-SOEs.
This study explores, through the lens of the resource-based view (RBV) and Schumpeter’s innovation theories, the role of innovation in sustainable performance in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that practice the circular economy (CE). Drawing from the RBV theory, we find that R&D and patents are positively related to sustainable performance. We focus on the internal mechanisms and contingent conditions of the relationships between innovation and social, environmental, and economic performance in achieving the sustainable development goals. The results show that innovation is positively related to social and environmental performance. Meanwhile, R&D investment can improve economic performance. Moreover, the study verifies the mediating role of social and environmental performance, indicating that patents and efficient innovation can indirectly enhance SMEs’ profitability through social performance, while environmental performance does not. Furthermore, firm age and ownership type moderate the relationship between innovation and economic performance. This study extends our knowledge of the relationship between innovation and sustainable performance and provides theoretical guidance for successful SME innovation practices that contribute to sustainable development.
Purpose Sustainable manufacturing practices are one of the significant environmental initiatives taken by manufacturing industries to preserve the environment and improve the quality of human life ...while performing manufacturing activities. The emergence of the value creation concept, economic value no longer counts as a single factor for measuring manufacturing performance. Within the sustainability context, the impact of manufacturing activities on the environmental and social aspects should be taken into account as the basis for assessing manufacturing performance, which is called sustainability performance. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship of sustainable manufacturing practices with sustainability performance, which considers the environmental, economic and social aspects. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey is carried out among 443 ISO 14001 certified manufacturing companies in Malaysia. Structural equation modelling is used to evaluate the relationship of sustainable manufacturing practices with sustainability performance. Findings The findings of this study indicate that manufacturing process is the manufacturing stage that gives the most impact on the improvement of sustainability performance. Hence, it is concluded that manufacturing companies in Malaysia are highly focussed on the production bound when implementing sustainable manufacturing practices. Research limitations/implications Although this study indicates a good estimation of the proposed model, additional variables might be added to improve the prediction strength of the proposed model such as considering type of industries, economic scale or ownership. Adding the comparison of sustainable manufacturing practices between different countries also a valuable research to investigated. Practical implications The framework proposed here can also assist manufacturing industries to conduct sustainability assessments by providing elements of sustainability performance and can serve as a guideline to select appropriate sustainable manufacturing practices and to what level the practices need to be improved to leverage companies’ sustainability performance. Originality/value The framework proposed here can also assist manufacturing industries to conduct sustainability assessments by providing elements of sustainability performance and can serve as a guideline to select appropriate sustainable manufacturing practices and to what level the practices need to be improved to leverage companies’ sustainability performance.
While lean management practices (LMP) help small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) to be efficient, sustainability‐oriented innovation (SOI) facilitates adopting environmental and social practices. ...Although prior research looks into the effect of LMP on the economic performance (EP) of SMEs, less is known about the effect of LMP on sustainability (economic, environmental and social) performance. Studies on the effect of SOI on sustainability and economic performance are also scant. Additionally, examining the mediating effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices (environmental and social practices) on both LMP and SOI achieving sustainability performance (SP) is rare. This research bridges these knowledge gaps by answering the question of how LMP, SOI, CSR practices, sustainability and economic performance are correlated. Through hypothesis testing using structural equation modelling, this study reveals the impact of LMP, SOI, CSR (environmental and social) practices on sustainability and economic performance. The study uses data from 119 SMEs within manufacturing industries in the Midlands, UK. The analysis reveals that LMP and SOI facilitate achieving both sustainability and economic performance, and SOI mediates LMP to achieve sustainability performance. Additionally, although CSR practices mediate LMP to achieve sustainability performance, they only borderline mediate SOI to achieve sustainability performance.
Small firms’ performance has been recognised as an important topic for researchers dealing with the topics of internationalisation and innovation. Literature has examined the individual influence of ...network cooperation, innovation and internationalisation on firm performance. However, there is an absence of research to explore the coherent relationship between network linkages, innovation performance, internationalisation performance and its cumulative influence on economic performance. That is, this research examines the mediating roles of innovation and internationalisation between network cooperation and firm performance. Based on the sample of 117 exporting Indian SMEs and using structural equation modelling, the results note that indirect effects produced by customers and Research and Development (R&D) organisations via innovation performance explain a higher proportion of their total effect on the economic performance of SMEs. Conversely, the relationship between three network stakeholders, viz. customers, government agencies and R&D organisations, and economic performance are mediated by the internationalisation performance of SMEs.
The environmental and economic inputs of three different fish farming methods, (semi-natural, concrete, and galvanised ponds) were investigated in a region with a hot and dry climate and a severe ...water shortage. The data were collected in 2020 through direct interviews with fish farmers, as well as regional weather information. The inputs and outputs of each system, both environmental and purchased, as well as the water quality parameters and fish growth rates, were also recorded. Emergy analysis was applied to assess the economic, and environmental aspects of these systems and to compare their performance and sustainability. According to the emergy efficiency indicators (Tr and SpE), concrete ponds had a higher efficiency for fish farming than the other two systems. Semi-natural fish farming was sustainable, as shown by the emergy yield ratio, which measures the system's reliance on environmental inputs. Semi-natural ponds had an economic advantage (O/I, BN, O/IEmV and BNEmV) over concrete and galvanised fish farming, because they used environmental inputs more effectively for fish rearing. Environmental efficiency can be improved by taking suitable management actions, such as increasing the size of fingerlings, while economic efficiency can be enhanced by enlarging the scale of fish farms. At the same time, using economic inputs more efficiently in concrete and galvanised ponds can boost both their sustainability and economic efficiency.
•Emergy analysis was used to evaluate three fish farming systems in Sistan, Iran, for optimal water use.•The environmental and economic data came from fish breeder interviews and Sistan weather data.•Semi-natural fish farming was sustainable due to its interaction with the environment.•In terms of economic indicators, semi-natural ponds outperformed concrete and galvanised fish farms.•Expanding the size of fingerlings and the size of fish farms respectively increases environmental and economic efficiency.
The emergence of Covid-19 has created a global panic that affects global economic performance and causes natural resources commodity price volatility. In this regard, the current research study ...investigated the nexus of natural resource commodity price volatility and global economic performance from January 01, 2019, to July 01, 2021. Using the wavelet power spectrum and wavelet coherence approaches, the empirical findings reveal that only the natural resource commodity prices are vulnerable. However, no vulnerability has been observed for the global economic performance. Additionally, the wavelet coherence reveals that there is no long-run or the short run causal association between these two variables. Moreover, the Breitung-Candelon spectral Granger causality test confirms no causal relationship between natural resource commodity price volatility and global economic performance. Based on the empirical findings, this study provides some relevant policy implications.
•Natural resources price volatility and global economic performance has been tested.•Both wavelet power spectrum and wavelet coherence approaches have been utilized.•Natural resource commodity price showed vulnerabilities across time series.•No causal relation has been found between the two-time series.•Breitung-Candelon spectral Granger causality test also confirms no causal nexus.
This study sheds light on the driving forces of eco-innovation and the effects on firm performance. We focus on eco-innovation, which provides customer and business value, and contributes to ...sustainable development while decreasing environmental costs and impacts. The study uses data collected from 442 Chinese firms to investigate the relationship among the drivers, eco-innovation behavior, and firm performance. The results reveal that certain factors (i.e., technological capabilities, environmental organizational capabilities, a market-based instrument, competitive pressures, and customer green demand) contribute to the development of eco-innovation. Competitive pressure provides firms with the greatest incentive to adopt eco-innovation, followed by a market-based instrument, technological capabilities, customer green demand, and environmental organization capabilities. The market-based instrument is effective in inducing eco-innovation, while a command and control instrument does not. With regard to the adoption of eco-innovation, we show that eco-innovation behavior can significantly enhance a firm's environmental performance, and, through environmental performance, has an indirect positive impact on its economic performance. These findings support the “Porter hypothesis,” and have several implications for both policy makers and business managers.
•We develop a conceptual model of the drivers, eco-innovation and performance.•We test the model using survey data for a large sample of firms in China.•Internal resources and external pressures positively affect eco-innovation.•The market-based instrument triggers eco-innovation, while a command and control does not.•Environmental performance mediates eco-innovation and economic performance.
In this study, we analyzed the relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth in 17 emerging countries, spanning the period of 1990–2016. The bootstrap panel causality test, ...allowing for dependence across countries and heterogeneity in slope parameters, developed by Kónya (2006) 1 was employed. The results indicated that the neutrality hypothesis does hold for all of the markets studied except for Poland, which confirmed the growth hypothesis. As such, because of the nonexistence of causality running from renewable energy demand to economic growth, energy saving (mitigation) policies do not have any detrimental influence on the growth rates of these 16 emerging economies. For Poland; however, energy conservation policies may have detrimental effects on the country's economic performance level.
•Renewable energy consumption and economic growth relationship for 17 emerging countries examined.•The bootstrap panel causality test was employed.•The neutrality hypothesis does hold for all of the countries except for Poland.•The growth hypothesis confirmed for Poland.•Energy conservation policies do not have any adverse effects on the economic growth rates 16 countries.
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