IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v22y2013i5p321-338.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental Requirements, Knowledge Sharing and Green Innovation: Empirical Evidence from the Electronics Industry in China

Author

Listed:
  • Stanley Kam Sing Wong

Abstract

Building on the Porter hypothesis, which posits that regulatory stringency triggers innovation and thereby allows firms to achieve the dual purpose of environment protection and enhanced business performance, the present research develops an integrative model that explores the determinants of green innovation with a focus being placed on knowledge sharing. Data were collected from 203 green innovation project leaders from electronics manufacturers operating in China. The results indicate that knowledge sharing mediates the relationship between green requirements and new green product success as well as that between green requirements and green product and process innovations. Interestingly, the empirical analysis rejects the hypothesized positive influence of green requirements on green product and process innovations as well as that on new green product success, while confirming that there exists a direct and positive association between green requirements and knowledge sharing. The direct positive impact of knowledge sharing is the strongest on green process innovation. This study provides a theoretical basis for investigating the possible determinants in the causal links between green requirements and green innovation success and establishes that knowledge sharing and green process innovation may be the points where leverage can be applied to best secure innovation success. Implications of the findings on environmental policy and law design are also discussed to see how the regulatory role of the government can be better positioned to facilitate compliance and innovation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Stanley Kam Sing Wong, 2013. "Environmental Requirements, Knowledge Sharing and Green Innovation: Empirical Evidence from the Electronics Industry in China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 321-338, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:22:y:2013:i:5:p:321-338
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.1746
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.1746
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.1746?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yevhen Baranchenko & David Oglethorpe, 2012. "The Potential Environmental Benefits of Co‐Operative Businesses Within the Climate Change Agenda," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 197-210, March.
    2. Marlen Gabriele Arnold & Kai Hockerts, 2011. "The greening dutchman: Philips' process of green flagging to drive sustainable innovations," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(6), pages 394-407, September.
    3. Stefan Ambec & Mark A. Cohen & Stewart Elgie & Paul Lanoie, 2013. "The Porter Hypothesis at 20: Can Environmental Regulation Enhance Innovation and Competitiveness?," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 7(1), pages 2-22, January.
    4. Louise Canning & Stuart Hanmer‐Lloyd, 2001. "Managing the environmental adaptation process in supplier–customer relationships," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(4), pages 225-237, July.
    5. Sime Curkovic & Robert Sroufe, 2011. "Using ISO 14001 to promote a sustainable supply chain strategy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(2), pages 71-93, February.
    6. repec:bla:jecsur:v:23:y:2009:i:3:p:462-502 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Paul Lanoie & Jérémy Laurent‐Lucchetti & Nick Johnstone & Stefan Ambec, 2011. "Environmental Policy, Innovation and Performance: New Insights on the Porter Hypothesis," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(3), pages 803-842, September.
    8. Aseem Prakash, 2002. "Green marketing, public policy and managerial strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(5), pages 285-297, September.
    9. Utterback, James M & Abernathy, William J, 1975. "A dynamic model of process and product innovation," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 3(6), pages 639-656, December.
    10. Adam B. Jaffe & Karen Palmer, 1997. "Environmental Regulation And Innovation: A Panel Data Study," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 79(4), pages 610-619, November.
    11. Stefanie Lena Heinzle & Rolf Wüstenhagen, 2012. "Dynamic Adjustment of Eco‐labeling Schemes and Consumer Choice – the Revision of the EU Energy Label as a Missed Opportunity?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(1), pages 60-70, January.
    12. Stuart L. Hart & Gautam Ahuja, 1996. "Does It Pay To Be Green? An Empirical Examination Of The Relationship Between Emission Reduction And Firm Performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(1), pages 30-37, March.
    13. Fredrik von Malmborg, 2004. "Networking for knowledge transfer: towards an understanding of local authority roles in regional industrial ecosystem management," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(5), pages 334-346, September.
    14. Karen Palmer & Wallace E. Oates & Paul R. Portney & Karen Palmer & Wallace E. Oates & Paul R. Portney, 2004. "Tightening Environmental Standards: The Benefit-Cost or the No-Cost Paradigm?," Chapters, in: Environmental Policy and Fiscal Federalism, chapter 3, pages 53-66, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    15. Su‐Yol Lee, 2012. "Corporate Carbon Strategies in Responding to Climate Change," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(1), pages 33-48, January.
    16. Mohr, Robert D., 2002. "Technical Change, External Economies, and the Porter Hypothesis," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 158-168, January.
    17. Sanjay Sharma, 2001. "Different strokes: regulatory styles and environmental strategy in the North‐American oil and gas industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(6), pages 344-364, November.
    18. Déirdre Crowe & Louis Brennan, 2007. "Environmental considerations within manufacturing strategy: an international study," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(4), pages 266-289, May.
    19. Kristian Möller & Senja Svahn, 2006. "Role of Knowledge in Value Creation in Business Nets," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(5), pages 985-1007, July.
    20. Xianbing Liu & Jie Yang & Sixiao Qu & Leina Wang & Tomohiro Shishime & Cunkuan Bao, 2012. "Sustainable Production: Practices and Determinant Factors of Green Supply Chain Management of Chinese Companies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(1), pages 1-16, January.
    21. Jörn‐Henrik Thun & Andrea Müller, 2010. "An empirical analysis of green supply chain management in the German automotive industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(2), pages 119-132, February.
    22. Smulders, Sjak & de Nooij, Michiel, 2003. "The impact of energy conservation on technology and economic growth," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 59-79, February.
    23. Geroski, P A, 1990. "Innovation, Technological Opportunity, and Market Structure," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 42(3), pages 586-602, July.
    24. William B. Gartner, 1988. "“Who Is an Entrepreneur?†Is the Wrong Question," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 12(4), pages 11-32, April.
    25. Alastair Iles, 2008. "Shifting to green chemistry: the need for innovations in sustainability marketing," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(8), pages 524-535, December.
    26. Yu-Shan Chen, 2008. "The Driver of Green Innovation and Green Image – Green Core Competence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 81(3), pages 531-543, September.
    27. Rosa Dangelico & Devashish Pujari, 2010. "Mainstreaming Green Product Innovation: Why and How Companies Integrate Environmental Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(3), pages 471-486, September.
    28. Yu-Shan Chen & Shyh-Bao Lai & Chao-Tung Wen, 2006. "The Influence of Green Innovation Performance on Corporate Advantage in Taiwan," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(4), pages 331-339, September.
    29. Gail Whiteman & D. René de Vos & F. Stuart Chapin & Vesa Yli‐Pelkonen & Jari Niemelä & Bruce C. Forbes, 2011. "Business strategies and the transition to low‐carbon cities," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(4), pages 251-265, May.
    30. Henry Kaiser, 1970. "A second generation little jiffy," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 35(4), pages 401-415, December.
    31. Jeffrey Gauthier & Bill Wooldridge, 2012. "Influences on Sustainable Innovation Adoption: Evidence from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(2), pages 98-110, February.
    32. Cecilia Solér & Kerstin Bergström & Helena Shanahan, 2010. "Green supply chains and the missing link between environmental information and practice," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(1), pages 14-25, January.
    33. David J. Teece, 2007. "Explicating dynamic capabilities: the nature and microfoundations of (sustainable) enterprise performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(13), pages 1319-1350, December.
    34. Uwe Cantner & Holger Graf, 2004. "Cooperation and specialization in German technology regions," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 14(5), pages 543-562, December.
    35. Hsiu-Fen Lin, 2007. "Knowledge sharing and firm innovation capability: an empirical study," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 28(1), pages 315 - 332, April.
    36. Chin Hee Hahn & Sang-Hyop Lee & Kyoung-Soo Yoon (ed.), 2012. "Responding to Climate Change," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14709.
    37. Christopher Wilson & Ian David Williams & Simon Kemp, 2011. "Compliance with Producer Responsibility Legislation: Experiences from UK Small and Medium‐sized Enterprises," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(5), pages 310-330, July.
    38. Chiou, Tzu-Yun & Chan, Hing Kai & Lettice, Fiona & Chung, Sai Ho, 2011. "The influence of greening the suppliers and green innovation on environmental performance and competitive advantage in Taiwan," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(6), pages 822-836.
    39. Johnston, Derek, 2005. "An investigation of regulatory and voluntary environmental capital expenditures," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 175-206.
    40. Ki‐Hoon Lee & Ji‐Whan Kim, 2011. "Integrating Suppliers into Green Product Innovation Development: an Empirical Case Study in the Semiconductor Industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(8), pages 527-538, December.
    41. Pelham, Alfred M., 1999. "Influence of Environment, Strategy, and Market Orientation on Performance in Small Manufacturing Firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 33-46, May.
    42. Frances Drake & Martin Purvis & Jane Hunt, 2004. "Meeting the environmental challenge: a case of win–win or lose–win? A study of the UK baking and refrigeration industries," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(3), pages 172-186, May.
    43. Andrea L. Larson, 2000. "Sustainable innovation through an entrepreneurship lens," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(5), pages 304-317, September.
    44. Kevin Zheng Zhou & Caroline Bingxin Li, 2012. "How knowledge affects radical innovation: Knowledge base, market knowledge acquisition, and internal knowledge sharing," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(9), pages 1090-1102, September.
    45. Hsiu‐Fen Lin, 2007. "Knowledge sharing and firm innovation capability: an empirical study," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(3/4), pages 315-332, June.
    46. Marcus Wagner, 2009. "National culture, regulation and country interaction effects on the association of environmental management systems with environmentally beneficial innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(2), pages 122-136, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tariq, Adeel & Badir, Yuosre F. & Tariq, Waqas & Bhutta, Umair Saeed, 2017. "Drivers and consequences of green product and process innovation: A systematic review, conceptual framework, and future outlook," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 8-23.
    2. Jana Hojnik, 2017. "In Pursuit of Eco-innovation," UPP Monograph Series, University of Primorska Press, number 978-961-7023-53-4.
    3. Chungwon Woo & Yanghon Chung & Dongphil Chun & Seunghun Han & Dukhee Lee, 2014. "Impact of Green Innovation on Labor Productivity and its Determinants: an Analysis of the Korean Manufacturing Industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(8), pages 567-576, December.
    4. Luca Lambertini & Giuseppe Pignataro & Alessandro Tampieri, 2022. "Competition among coalitions in a cournot industry: a validation of the porter hypothesis," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 73(4), pages 679-713, October.
    5. Rosa Maria Dangelico, 2016. "Green Product Innovation: Where we are and Where we are Going," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(8), pages 560-576, December.
    6. Jean Pierre Huiban & Camille Mastromarco & Antonio Musolesi & Michel Simioni, 2016. "The impact of pollution abatement investments on production technology: new insights from frontier analysis," Working Papers hal-01512154, HAL.
    7. Eric Giraud-Héraud & Jean-Pierre Ponssard & Bernard Sinclair Desgagné & Louis-Georges Soler, 2016. "The agro-food industry, public health, and environmental protection: investigating the Porter hypothesis in food regulation," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 97(2), pages 127-140, September.
    8. Lu Qiu & Xiaowen Jie & Yanan Wang & Minjuan Zhao, 2020. "Green product innovation, green dynamic capability, and competitive advantage: Evidence from Chinese manufacturing enterprises," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 146-165, January.
    9. Feng Zhang & Lei Zhu, 2019. "Enhancing corporate sustainable development: Stakeholder pressures, organizational learning, and green innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 1012-1026, September.
    10. Tze San Ong & Ah Suat Lee & Boon Heng Teh & Hussain Bakhsh Magsi, 2019. "Environmental Innovation, Environmental Performance and Financial Performance: Evidence from Malaysian Environmental Proactive Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-18, June.
    11. Böhringer, Christoph & Moslener, Ulf & Oberndorfer, Ulrich & Ziegler, Andreas, 2012. "Clean and productive? Empirical evidence from the German manufacturing industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 442-451.
    12. Xiang Deng & Li Li, 2020. "Promoting or Inhibiting? The Impact of Environmental Regulation on Corporate Financial Performance—An Empirical Analysis Based on China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-17, May.
    13. Helena Forsman, 2013. "Environmental Innovations as a Source of Competitive Advantage or Vice Versa?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 306-320, July.
    14. Mingfeng Tang & Grace Walsh & Daniel Lerner & Markus A. Fitza & Qiaohua Li, 2018. "Green Innovation, Managerial Concern and Firm Performance: An Empirical Study," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 39-51, January.
    15. Morteza Akbari & Hamid Padash & Zahra Shahabaldini Parizi & Haniye Rezaei & Elmira Shahriari & Ala Khosravani, 2022. "A bibliometric review of green innovation research: identifying knowledge domain and network," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 3993-4023, December.
    16. Nigel James Martin & John Lewis Rice, 2014. "Influencing Clean Energy Laws: an Analysis of Business Stakeholder Engagement," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(7), pages 447-460, November.
    17. Pinget, Amandine, 2016. "Spécificités des déterminants des innovations environnementales : une approche appliquée aux PME [Specificities of determinants for environmental innovation : an approach applied to SMEs]," MPRA Paper 80108, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Gonseth, Camille & Cadot, Olivier & Mathys, Nicole A. & Thalmann, Philippe, 2015. "Energy-tax changes and competitiveness: The role of adaptive capacity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 127-135.
    19. Dhekra Ben Amara & Hong Chen, 2021. "Evidence for the Mediating Effects of Eco-Innovation and the Impact of Driving Factors on Sustainable Business Growth of Agribusiness," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 22(3), pages 251-266, September.
    20. Thomas Bassetti & Silvia Blasi & Silvia Rita Sedita, 2021. "The management of sustainable development: A longitudinal analysis of the effects of environmental performance on economic performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 21-37, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:22:y:2013:i:5:p:321-338. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-0836 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.