The Impact of Sustainable Innovations on Firm Performance – A Meta-Analysis

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This research project investigates how companies can reconcile environmental responsibility with financial performance through sustainable innovation. Using meta-analytical methods, the project pursues three goals: First, distinct sustainable innovation types are identified at the product, process and organizational level and their performance outcomes are tested. Then, potential synergies between different sustainable innovation types are examined. Finally, the project addresses firm-external and internal contingency factors that enhance or mitigate the impact of sustainable innovation types on financial performance. The research project makes important contributions to research. It delivers generalizable empirical insights into the direction and strength of each SI type’s effect on performance which are missing in extant literature. Further, the project sheds light on the so far neglected interplay between sustainable innovation types and clarifies under which contextual factors the benefits of introducing sustainable innovation types outweigh their downsides. In practice, clarifying these issues is of utmost importance to help managers in assessing the potential of sustainable innovation and prioritize specific or combined innovation types. The results also help practitioners to align sustainable innovation activities with specific market conditions and firm characteristics.