Mp. Sharfman et al., Regulation, business, and sustainable development - The antecedents of environmentally conscious technological innovation, AM BEHAV SC, 44(2), 2000, pp. 277-302
A growing number of firms have begun work toward the development of innovat
ive systems that consume fewer resources. reduce waste, enhance productivit
y while creating new market opportunities. However all of this environmenta
lly friendly innovation occurs under varying types/levels of regulation and
the role of such regulation is still debatable. To date, little research e
xists that investigates the relative importance of market-driven versus reg
ulatory actions in influencing environmental technological innovation. This
article presents a model of the antecedents of environmentally conscious t
echnological innovation under high and low amounts of regulation. The autho
rs present four abbreviated case studies undertaken as part of a larger U.S
. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-funded study that describe environm
entally conscious product and process innovations in high and low regulatio
n environments. The authors use the case studies to examine the extent to w
hich the data support our model. The article concludes with a discussion of
the implications of our findings.