TY - CHAP

T1 - Publicly Mediated Inter-Organizational Networks

T2 - A Solution for Sustainability-Oriented Innovation in SMEs ?

AU - Hansen, Erik G.

AU - Klewitz, Johanna

PY - 2012

Y1 - 2012

N2 - To aim for corporate sustainability is a means for companies to contribute to sustainable development as they integrate environmental, social and economic aspects into core business activities. The realization of corporate sustainability is a process which sustainability-oriented innovations (SOIs) can support in that SOIs are environmentally or socially superior products, services, and processes that can be sold successfully in the market. However, little research has been conducted into SOI in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), even though they play a major role economically and, thus, are as a group vital to sustainable development. Therefore, this chapter points to the peculiarities for SOI in SMEs under the consideration of SOI characteristics, i.e. its directional and market risks. This contribution will argue from an inter-organizational network perspective with a focus on the role of public intermediaries. To this end, we will put forward a framework that demonstrates the relational ties between SMEs and public intermediaries, with special attention to public private partnerships and university-industry relationships. The framework illustrates that such publicly mediated networks can support SOI in SMEs in that a network constellation reduces and shares SOI related risks, provides access to external knowledge and expertise, and thus, ultimately accounts for SME peculiarities in the context of SOI.

AB - To aim for corporate sustainability is a means for companies to contribute to sustainable development as they integrate environmental, social and economic aspects into core business activities. The realization of corporate sustainability is a process which sustainability-oriented innovations (SOIs) can support in that SOIs are environmentally or socially superior products, services, and processes that can be sold successfully in the market. However, little research has been conducted into SOI in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), even though they play a major role economically and, thus, are as a group vital to sustainable development. Therefore, this chapter points to the peculiarities for SOI in SMEs under the consideration of SOI characteristics, i.e. its directional and market risks. This contribution will argue from an inter-organizational network perspective with a focus on the role of public intermediaries. To this end, we will put forward a framework that demonstrates the relational ties between SMEs and public intermediaries, with special attention to public private partnerships and university-industry relationships. The framework illustrates that such publicly mediated networks can support SOI in SMEs in that a network constellation reduces and shares SOI related risks, provides access to external knowledge and expertise, and thus, ultimately accounts for SME peculiarities in the context of SOI.

KW - Sustainability sciences, Management & Economics

KW - innovation

KW - SME

KW - network

KW - collaboration

KW - Entrepreneurship

M3 - Contributions to collected editions/anthologies

SN - 978-1-906093-73-0

SP - 254

EP - 278

BT - Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Sustainability

A2 - Wagner, Marcus

PB - Greenleaf Publishing

CY - Sheffield

ER -