Version 1
: Received: 13 April 2021 / Approved: 14 April 2021 / Online: 14 April 2021 (13:51:32 CEST)
How to cite:
Patil, R.; Jain, A.; Gurtoo, A. Sustainability Transition in Established Corporations: Detailing the Role of Technological Innovation. Preprints2021, 2021040380. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202104.0380.v1.
Patil, R.; Jain, A.; Gurtoo, A. Sustainability Transition in Established Corporations: Detailing the Role of Technological Innovation. Preprints 2021, 2021040380. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202104.0380.v1.
Cite as:
Patil, R.; Jain, A.; Gurtoo, A. Sustainability Transition in Established Corporations: Detailing the Role of Technological Innovation. Preprints2021, 2021040380. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202104.0380.v1.
Patil, R.; Jain, A.; Gurtoo, A. Sustainability Transition in Established Corporations: Detailing the Role of Technological Innovation. Preprints 2021, 2021040380. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202104.0380.v1.
Abstract
Sustainability transition theories analyse a systematic shift towards sustainability at micro (niche), meso (regime) and macro (landscape) level. The assessment of technological systems and structures at the firm level in sustainability transition literature is scant. The present study, taking the technological assessment perspective at the firm level, finds answers to questions like (a) how do established corporations move towards sustainable practices? (b) what role does technological innovation play in the firm’s transition towards sustainability? (c) what technological modes are adopted for sustainability transition? We find answers to these questions through an in-depth case analysis of two multi-national companies in the consumer goods industry. Internally developed and externally acquired technologies by firms in the last 15 years are plotted using qualitative and quantitative indicators on pre-designed templates. Technologies for all three sustainability dimensions, namely, environmental, social and economic, are mapped and the impact assessed. The analysis finds a sustainability transition landscape that shows the use of protected (patents, trademarks, designs) and unprotected technologies (open innovation) to generate impacts like production efficiency, consumption reduction, emission reduction, reduce-recycle-reuse among others. Companies implementing sustainable technologies do observe positive impacts. Implementation of reduce-reuse-recycle (3R)-based technologies enhance the achievement of sustainable development targets. Furthermore, the use of trademarks seems common in differentiating their technologies and identities. These and other results are detailed and used to comment on the role of managing intellectual property and harnessing the effect of technological innovations in sustainability transition.
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
