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The role of institutional pressures in the introduction of energy‐efficiency innovations
Author(s) -
Garrone Paola,
Grilli Luca,
Mrkajic Boris
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
business strategy and the environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.123
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1099-0836
pISSN - 0964-4733
DOI - 10.1002/bse.2072
Subject(s) - business , sample (material) , product (mathematics) , institutional theory , product innovation , industrial organization , process (computing) , energy (signal processing) , public economics , economic system , economics , management , chemistry , geometry , mathematics , chromatography , computer science , operating system , statistics
Abstract Relying on the institutional and innovation theories, we argue that the institutional features of countries are significantly influencing energy‐efficiency innovation (EEI), a relevant and particular type of environmental innovation activities. Analysis of a cross‐sectional sample of 22,936 firms from nine European countries, drawn from the 2006–8 Community Innovation Survey, confirms the hypothesis that formal and informal institutions influence the propensity of firms to introduce EEIs in general. Furthermore, formal institutions that generate regulatory pressures are found to spur both product and process EEI activities, while informal institutions exerting social pressures are able to significantly drive only product EEI activities. Large firms appear to be relatively more reactive to high regulatory pressures. We draw implications for policy‐makers and managers based on the findings.