@article{Mazzanti:12041,
      recid = {12041},
      author = {Mazzanti, Massimiliano and Zoboli, Roberto},
      title = {Examining the Factors Influencing Environmental  Innovations},
      address = {2006},
      number = {825-2016-55092},
      series = {CCMP Nota di Lavoro 20 - 2006},
      pages = {32},
      year = {2006},
      abstract = {Technological innovation is a key factor for achieving a  better environmental performance of firms and the economy  as a whole, to the extent that it helps to increase the  material/energy efficiency of production processes and to  reduce emission/effluents associated to outputs.  Environmental innovation may spur from exogenous driving  forces, like policy intervention, and/or from endogenous  factors associated to firm market and management  strategies. Despite the crucial importance of research in  this field, empirical evidence at firm microeconomic level,  for various reasons, is still scarce. Microeconomic-based  analysis is needed in order to assess what forces are lying  behind environmental innovation at the level of the firm,  where innovative practices emerge and are adopted. The  paper exploits information deriving from two surveys  conducted on a sample of manufacturing firms in Emilia  Romagna region -Northern Italy- in 2002 and 2004, located  in a district-intense local production system. New evidence  is provided by testing a set of hypotheses, concerning the  influence of: (i) firm structural variables; (ii)  environmental R&D; (iii) environmental policy pressure and  regulatory costs; (iv) past firm performances; (v)  networking activities, (vi) other non-environmental  techno-organizational innovations and (vii) quality/nature  of industrial relations. We estimate input and output-based  environmental innovation reduced form specifications in  order to test the set of hypotheses. The applied  investigation shows that environmental innovation drivers,  both at input and output level, are found within exogenous  factors and endogenous elements concerning the firm and its  activities/strategies within and outside its natural  boundaries. In the present case study, the usual structural  characteristics of the firm and performances appear to  matter less than R&D, induced costs, networking,  organisational flatness and innovative oriented industrial  relations. Environmental Policies and environmental  voluntary auditing schemes exert some relevant direct and  indirect effects on innovation, although evidence is mixed  and further research is particularly needed. Although this  new empirical evidence is focussing on a specific  industrial territory, we provide food for discussion on  firm environmental innovation strategies, and research  suggestions for further empirical work.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/12041},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.12041},
}