Marco Frey

How do small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) adopt environmental innovations? Do they have the necessary internal competence? Is any support offered by external parties (i.e. network involvement)? What are the policy implications? This book is based on extensive fieldwork, conducted in four traditional industrial sectors: offset printing, electroplating, textile finishing, and industrial painting. The work was carried out in Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and the UK. Twenty company-based case studies were analyzed and a telephone survey was conducted among 527 companies. As a result, the Innovation Triangle came to be formulated, which is presented here, defining and combining the determinants of SME innovativeness. The Innovation Triangle distinguishes three major determinants of innovativeness: business competence, environmental orientation, and network involvement. The Innovation Triangle allows one to diagnose current environmental and innovation policies, indicating which policy measures might be effective in increasing the adoption of environmentally friendly technologies, allowing environmental objectives to be achieved.

How do small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) adopt environmental innovations? Do they have the necessary internal competence? Is any support offered by external parties (i.e. network involvement)? What are the policy implications? This book is based on extensive fieldwork, conducted in four traditional industrial sectors: offset printing, electroplating, textile finishing, and industrial painting. The work was carried out in Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and the UK. Twenty company-based case studies were analyzed and a telephone survey was conducted among 527 companies. As a result, the Innovation Triangle came to be formulated, which is presented here, defining and combining the determinants of SME innovativeness. The Innovation Triangle distinguishes three major determinants of innovativeness: business competence, environmental orientation, and network involvement. The Innovation Triangle allows one to diagnose current environmental and innovation policies, indicating which policy measures might be effective in increasing the adoption of environmentally friendly technologies, allowing environmental objectives to be achieved.

This book explores how crowdfunding can effectively promote environmental sustainability and circular economy practices in businesses, emphasizing its role in providing crucial financial resources. The importance of financial resources in businesses represents an essential enabler for implementing and scaling sustainable solutions. The book is composed of six chapters, which analyze some key aspects, such as how crowdfunding has been used to develop circular products, success factors for environmental crowdfunding campaigns, the issue of greenwashing in crowdfunding campaigns. By offering a comprehensive and critical analysis of the main issues at stake, this volume provides valuable insights for scholars and students of sustainable business and green finance. The present work also highlights how crowdfunding can help companies to integrate strategies to improve product environmental performance, engage in environmental marketing, and consider alternative business models. Overall, this book is essential to better understand how innovative funding solutions can overcome financial barriers and foster impactful environmental projects.