Understanding sustainable innovation: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Abstract In order to adhere to the concept of sustainable development, firms are increasingly expected to develop innovations that reconcile economic, environmental, and social goals (i.e., sustainable innovations). However, achieving this goal is not straightforward, and although several studies have attempted to improve our understanding of sustainable innovation, a systematization of extant findings is lacking. Therefore, this paper conducts a literature review with the objective of organizing previous research regarding sustainable innovation. A systematic approach is adopted, identifying 69 relevant articles. These articles are organized according to three key perspectives: internal managerial, external relational, and performance evaluation. The results demonstrate that the first perspective, incorporating diverse managerial aspects, is the most considered, whereas the second and third perspectives remain underdeveloped. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research.