Sustainability excellence: the interactions of lean production, internal green practices and green product innovation

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ebenezer Afum ◽  
Ran Zhang ◽  
Yaw Agyabeng-Mensah ◽  
Zhuo Sun

Purpose This study aims to investigate the interactions between lean production, internal green practices, green product innovation and sustainable performance metrics. The study further looks at the mediation effect of internal green practices and green product innovation between lean production and sustainable performance dimensions. Design/methodology/approach The questionnaire was used to glean data from 209 manufacturing firms. All the hypothesized relationships were processed by using partial least square-structural equation modelling. Findings The results suggest that lean production significantly leads to the implementation of internal green practices and the production of quality products with eco-oriented features that meet customers’ needs. Further, while lean production and internal green practices were found to significantly influence sustainability performance, green product innovation significantly influences only financial performance. Besides, the mediation analysis shows that internal green practices mediate the relationship between lean production and sustainable performance dimensions but green product innovation mediates the relationship between lean production and financial performance only. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to firms from Ghana, a developing country; hence, the results cannot be imported to reflect other geographical contexts. Practical implications The results of the study provide sufficient justifications for managers, (especially Ghanaian managers and those from other similar environs) to commit their financial resources towards implementing lean production and internal green practices so as to achieve sustainability excellence. Originality/value This study magnifies and provides new insight on lean and green literature by developing a comprehensive research model that concurrently tests the direct and indirect effects between lean production, internal green practices, green product innovation and sustainable performance dimensions.

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 1474-1492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Godinho Antunes ◽  
Joaquín Texeira Quirós ◽  
Maria do Rosário Fernandes Justino

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between innovation and total quality management (TQM), and also to identify the effects of innovation on organizational performance. This research proposes a conceptual model that intends to study several research hypotheses. Design/methodology/approach The data were obtained through an online questionnaire, sent to small- and medium-sized Portuguese companies, having being conducted the study based on responses received from 287 valid questionnaires, and using a multivariate statistical analysis for statistical development. Findings The findings indicate that companies that adopt strategies of process innovation get improvements in their performance, both operationally and financially, while product innovation only provides improvements in the financial performance of organizations. It was also found that TQM practices encourage the definition of innovation strategies of products and processes. On the other hand, it was found that only companies that adopt innovation strategies of their processes promote the adoption of TQM practices, and there is a statistically significant relationship between product innovation and the implementation of TQM practices. Originality/value This research analyzed the dimensions studied in different aspects. It considered product innovation and process innovation, and with respect to performance, this dimension was analyzed through two different perspectives, namely, financial performance and operational performance. This research also provides a particular contribution to the literature with the analysis of the interdependencies between innovation and TQM in small- and medium-sized Portuguese companies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Zhou ◽  
Lucinda Sawyer ◽  
Adnan Safi

Rapid economic growth has led to economic activities which have caused extensive environmental damage to the planet. Companies have sought to adapt their business methods to reduce their carbon footprint in order to meet regulations, satisfy consumer preferences and keep up with changing societal expectations. The relationship between institutional pressure and green product performance will be an important issue in corporate green management. This article looked through the lens of green innovation and explored the moderating role of green brand image between green product innovation and new green product success. Utilising the data of 243 managers in Mainland China, structural equation modelling results found that institutional pressure is positively correlated to green transformational leadership, green transformational leadership is positively correlated to green process innovation, green process innovation is positively correlated to green product innovation, green product innovation is positively correlated with new green product success, green brand image moderates the relationship between green product innovation and new green product performance. The research results provide theoretical and practical implications for enterprises to relieve institutional pressure and build specific green competitive advantages.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 8685
Author(s):  
Norhuda Salim ◽  
Mohd Nizam Ab Rahman ◽  
Dzuraidah Abd Wahab ◽  
Ariff Azly Muhamed

Firms are finding it increasingly important to leverage social media to facilitate knowledge access, get valuable feedback, and improve innovations to cater for emerging markets. However, using social media without integrating other key factors does not seem to add value to innovation efforts. Therefore, this study investigates the potential of social media usage (SMU) in enhancing green product innovation (GPI) and how two types of environmental collaboration may affect that relationship, which is a subject that has been under-explored. First, the literature on the expansion of the use of social media in enhancing GPI was reviewed to develop the theoretical framework and hypotheses. Then, data collected from 211 manufacturing firms were analysed using structural equation modelling to examine the proposed relationship. The results revealed that SMU does not directly influence GPI. Rather, internal environmental collaboration (IEC) and environmental collaboration with suppliers (ECS) fully mediate the relationship between SMU and GPI. The results further disclosed a positive relationship between IEC and ECS, where both types of environmental collaboration seem to be key factors in improving GPI. Hence, this study highlights the importance of knowledge sharing through environmental collaborations for the generation of ideas to improve products in order to remain competitive in the market.


2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 451-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ching-Hsun Chang

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop an original framework to explore corporate social responsibility (CSR) plays a mediation role between green organizational culture and green product innovation performance. Design/methodology/approach – This study divides CSR into proactive CSR and reactive CSR. This research employs an empirical study by means of the questionnaire survey method to verify the hypotheses and to explore its managerial implications in Taiwanese manufacturing companies. Structural equation modeling is applied to verify the research framework. Findings – The empirical results verify that green organizational culture positively affects proactive CSR and green product innovation performance. This study shows that proactive CSR mediates the positive relationship between green organizational culture and green product innovation performance, but reactive CSR does not. Green organizational culture is a driving force for proactive CSR and green product innovation performance. Organizational members in Taiwanese companies are exposed to green organizational culture which influences CSR activities. Moreover, this study verifies that proactive CSR of large companies are significantly higher than those of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Research limitations/implications – There are three limitations of this study. First, this study verifies the hypotheses by means of questionnaire survey which only includes cross-sectional data. Second, this study utilize self-reported data may suffer the problems of common method variance. Third, this study applies a “five-point Likert scale” ranging from 1 to 5 to measure the constructs. Future research can apply a “seven-point Likert scale” to measure the constructs and compare with this study to test the significance of the variability of the data. There are two implications emerging from the study. First, proactive CSR has a positive effect on green product innovation performance, but reactive CSR does not. Second, green organizational culture is a driving force for proactive CSR and green product innovation performance. Originality/value – This study summarizes the literature of CSR into a new managerial framework and highlights the importance of proactive CSR. Therefore, green organizational culture cannot only affect green product innovation performance directly, but also influence it indirectly via proactive CSR in the Taiwanese manufacturing industry. Taiwanese manufacturing companies can increase their green organizational culture and proactive CSR to enhance their green product innovation performance. This study also explores that proactive CSR of large companies are significantly higher than those of SME.


Author(s):  
Liang Li ◽  
Hajar Msaad ◽  
Huaping Sun ◽  
Mei Xuen Tan ◽  
Yeqing Lu ◽  
...  

Chinese manufacturing has recently undertaken the responsibility of energy conservation and emission reduction to address climate change. This research analyzes green innovation on business sustainability in the energy-intensive industry in China from the manager perspective, researched data from 229 Chinese managers via structural equation modeling (SEM). The results demonstrated that green innovation had three dimensions: green product innovation, recycling, and green publicity. Business sustainability also had three dimensions: financial performance, environmental performance, and social performance. It also shows that green innovation had a significant effect on business sustainability in the energy-intensive industry. More specifically, we found that recycling has more impact on social performance when compared with green publicity. However, green publicity has a large effect on environmental performance; moreover, green product innovation has more impact on financial performance than green publicity. We also found that environmental performance has a positive effect on financial and social performance results. The alternative models were used to examine the second-order factors of green innovation and business sustainability to test the study’s robustness and supported our findings. Thus, this study contributes to the field by helping managers to make decisions when dealing with sustainable environmental management. It provides new empirical evidence to support the development of a low-carbon circular economy and realization of a carbon-neutral goal by 2060 in China.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-Chun Huang ◽  
Chih-Ta Chen

PurposeIntegrating economic and green initiatives into firm strategies is a challenge for firms in various industries. The study aims to incorporate multiple views, i.e. green innovation theory (GIT), the green institutional perspective (GIP) and the natural-resource-based view (NRBV), to develop a comprehensive model to explore why and how firms implement green product innovation (GPI).Design/methodology/approachThe study explores the relationships among institutional pressure, the firm's green resources and GPI. The research also distinguishes two different types of GPI: exploratory GPI and exploitative GPI. A total of 270 valid questionnaires were collected from electrical and electronics manufacturers in Taiwan. The authors employed structural equation modeling (SEM) using analysis of moment structures (AMOS) 23.0 to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results show that institutional pressure has a significant positive correlation with the firm's green resources. Furthermore, institutional pressure has a significantly positive influence on exploratory GPI and exploitative GPI, respectively. The firm's green resources also have a significantly positive effect on both exploratory GPI and exploitative GPI. In addition, institutional pressures have significantly positive indirect effect on both exploratory GPI and exploitative GPI.Research limitations/implicationsEconomic benefits and environmental sustainability are the most pressing issues faced by the electrical and electronics industry today. The study's investigation covers Taiwanese electrical and electronics manufacturers only, so the test of the research model has limited generalizability. The authors suggest that to expand the generalizability of the findings, future research should examine this model in the context of other regions such as Southeast Asia, Africa, South America, etc.Practical implicationsThe study has many interesting implications for both practitioners and policymakers. The authors' findings suggest that while Taiwanese electrical and electronics manufacturers face significant pressure from customers, competitors and regulation requirements (e.g. waste electrical and electronic equipment [WEEE], restriction of hazardous substances [RoHS] and energy using product [EuP] directives), firms in that sector should efficiently and effectively deploy their green resources and then perform proper GPI (e.g. exploratory GPI or exploitative GPI). These results also serve as a reminder to policymakers that balancing coercive (command-and-control) mechanisms with incentives and voluntary mechanisms is the best means by which to develop motivational and effective GPI policies.Originality/valueFirst and foremost, the paper divides GPI into exploratory GPI and exploitative GPI. Furthermore, the research incorporates two important schools of thought, i.e. the GIP and NRBV, thus providing a more holistic view by which to explore why and how companies adopt GPI.


SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824402110615
Author(s):  
Mei Han ◽  
Bilin Xu

Based on the perspective of multidimensional proximity, this paper examined the relationships between cognitive and social proximities with key customers and green product innovation performance via the mediation of green value co-creation by using data from 211 fine chemical small and medium-sized enterprises in clusters in China. Moderating effects of geographical distance and green project duration were assessed to further explore the relationship. The results revealed that social and cognitive proximities can promote green co-production and enhance green product innovation performance. Moreover, the relationship between social proximity and green co-production is hindered when customers are geographically distant or short duration partners of green projects. Eventually, this study was quite different from previous research by relating proximities to green value co-creation and green innovation performance in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets. The study provides a research framework for related research on green innovation.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghaith M. Al-Abdallah ◽  
Majda I. Al-Salim

PurposeGreen product innovation is a global industrial concern. This research examines the possible impact of green product innovation on firms' competitive advantage in industrial enterprises operating in qualified industrial zones (QIZs).Design/methodology/approachThis research follows a descriptive analytical methodology, testing two hypotheses formulated based on the reviewed literature among chemical industrial plants of the three Jordanian QIZs (Amman, Zarqa and Irbid) in Jordan. Following a preliminary scoping study of all 219 Jordanian chemical manufacturers, a quantitative five-point Likert scale questionnaire was administered to firms applying green product activities.FindingsIn total, 20 firms were found to be utilizing green product innovation, representing only 9.13% of the overall population. The hypothesis testing results indicated that green product innovation has a statistically significant positive impact on competitive advantage. The results also showed that the factor “firm resources” has a statistically significant positive moderation effect on the relationship between green product innovation and competitive advantage.Research limitations/implicationsThe vast majority of Jordanian chemical manufacturers were not implementing green innovation or practices; further study is needed to identify barriers. Findings are limited to managers of chemical industrial plants in Jordan, excluding the demand side (e.g. plant customers who purchase final products), which leaves a different research angle to be explored.Originality/valueThis is a pioneering study of green product innovation implications for firm competitive advantage in manufacturing enterprises, especially in QIZs of Jordan (which offer tax exemptions to foreign and local investors and sell products to regional and international markets).


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