How to drive corporate responsible innovation? A dual perspective from internal and external drivers of environmental protection enterprises

Abstract

Responsible innovation has been widely concerned by the public sector and actively explored by scholars for its great role in supporting eco-innovation and sustainable development. However, as the main body of innovation, enterprises have not been fully recognized. Moreover, the research on the driving factors of responsible innovation is mostly the direct influence of a single factor, lacking the overall consideration of the internal and external environment. To bridge this research gap, this study, by deeply interviewing 13 entrepreneurs in environmental protection enterprises, clarified the concept of corporate responsible innovation and its four-dimensional framework (inclusion, anticipation, reflexivity, responsiveness), and then proposed the MPN-MSE driving factor model of corporate responsible innovation from the internal and external perspectives. The external factors include market pressure (M), policy pressure (P), and normative pressure (N), while the internal factors include responsible innovation motivation (M), responsible innovation system (S), and responsible innovation elements (E). The research findings provide an important theoretical contribution to the research of corporate responsible innovation.

A study on the influence of environmental responsible leadership on employee pro-environmental behavior

“…To balance the interests of all parties, companies increasingly focus on responsible leadership. Environmental responsible leadership (Chianghui, 2023;Yi et al, 2023) builds a communication platform that includes many stakeholders, allowing employees to better understand the needs of each party rather than acting blindly based on their own experiences and assumptions, and facilitating employees' clarity about the company's position and direction of pro-environmental behavior. (Voegtlin et al, 2020) clarified that responsible leaders have three roles: citizen, expert, and facilitator.…”

Tech Giants’ Responsible Innovation and Technology Strategy: An International Policy Review

“…It is noteworthy that commercialisation is a pivotal phase in innovation, and most innovations are founded and produced by the private sector [23,45]. With growing interest in the theme of 'being responsible' in technospheres, some influential technology companies have embraced the RIT concept to respond to societal needs and challenges by creating responsible products and services [24,28,46]. These companies have established various principles based on their own perspectives, missions, or specific business backgrounds to help guide their product and services to respond to the concept of RIT, e.g., Microsoft's Responsible AI, Amazon's Responsible Use of Machine Learning, Samsung's Responsible Production and Sales, and Atlassian's Responsible Technology.…”

“…RIT in a business context refers to the emerging concept where businesses actively consider the broader societal, ethical, and environmental implications of their innovations and technological deployments [10,23,47]. Li et al [24] and Jarmai [48] posited that the impetus for corporates to adopt a responsible approach in their innovation process primarily stems from both internal factors, such as company vision and the pursuits of key individuals, and external factors, including market demand, policy pressure, and the expectations of civil society. Some studies indicated that incorporating the RIT concept into business strategies contributes to leading long-term benefits, including enhanced brand reputation, increased trust among consumers and stakeholders, and a more sustainable and resilient business model [27,[49][50][51].…”

“…Such dialogue emphasises that modern innovation practice should deliver responsible technological outcomes and ensure these outcomes can be rationally integrated into our cities and societies, thereby mitigating potential repercussions of contemporary technological leaps [19][20][21][22]. As the major actors in innovation practices, technology companies, especially those with global influence, find themselves at the nexus of this transformative dialogue [23,24]. They realise that adopting a responsible approach in the innovation process is not only beneficial for society but also crucial for maintaining a positive brand image and securing long-term success in an ever-changing market [25][26][27].…”

“…Although the interest of academia and the policy community in RIT is growing, and some effort has been put into RIT practices, research from the business community's perspective remains limited [10,32]. Existing research and discussion regarding 'responsibility' in the business setting are more concerned with widely recognised concepts such as 'corporate social responsibility' (CSR) and 'corporate sustainability' (CS) [23][24][25]33]. However, research focused on corporates' specific insights into the RIT concept remains relatively underexplored.…”