Resource efficiency in the innovative and conservative stages of a firm's evolution

Attempts to understand how firms view environmentally-friendly operations and conscious consumerism are easy to find in the resource efficiency literature. Although scholars consider various resource efficiency business models, opportunities to seize the benefits of the organizational life cycle theory remain under-researched. In the current study, we analyze resource efficiency actions undertaken by close to 1,200 firms in the innovative and conservative stages of a firm's evolution from four European Union member states: Lithuania, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain. Logistic regression results show that firms in the conservative stage are more likely to undertake resource efficiency actions related to the saving of water, energy, and materials than firms in the innovative stage which are expected to be implementing actions associated with the design of sustainable product. Surprisingly, our findings also suggest that firms in the conservative stage perform more resource efficiency actions than firms in the innovative one. Various actions are applied by firms in different stages among member states that share similar economic conditions. Moreover, support mechanisms are also considered in this study. The findings allow us to contribute by expanding how the resource efficiency field is conceived in the terms of firm-specific characteristics, their needs and limitations while providing insights and recommendations for researchers and policymakers to accelerate the transition to a sustainable society.

Automated summary

Analysis of close to 1,200 firms from four European Union member states reveals that firms in the conservative stage are more likely to undertake resource efficiency actions related to saving water, energy, and materials, while firms in the innovative stage are expected to focus on sustainable product design. Surprisingly, firms in the conservative stage perform more resource efficiency actions than firms in the innovative stage, indicating varying actions taken by firms in different stages under similar economic conditions. Support mechanisms are also considered in this study.