Title: Prospects of sustainability-oriented innovation assessment

Authors: Klaus Möller; Kilian Bizer; Lukas Krüger; Michael Kubach

Addresses: Institute of Accounting, Control and Auditing, University of St. Gallen, Rosenbergstrasse 52, 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland ' Chair of Economic Policy and SME Research, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Platz der Göttinger Sieben 3, 37073 Göttingen, Germany ' Chair of Economic Policy and SME Research, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Platz der Göttinger Sieben 3, 37073 Göttingen, Germany ' CEPRA – Center for Performance Research and Analytics, University of Augsburg, Universitätsstr. 16, 86135 Augsburg, Germany

Abstract: The importance of sustainability orientation in the assessment of innovation becomes increasingly important as firms face macro-structural transformations, strong competition and stakeholder pressure towards sustainable conduct. However, traditional approaches to innovation assessment focus on financial outcomes and fail to capture the double externalities of sustainability-oriented innovations. In this paper, we therefore conceptualise a holistic approach to innovation selection that integrates environmental and social factors into the assessment. By applying an interdisciplinary view, we furthermore argue that this approach can be facilitated by adjustments to the economic-political framework. Conclusions for indicators supporting sustainability oriented innovation assessment in firms and for policy adjustments by political actors are presented.

Keywords: economic-political framework; environmental policy; externalities; innovation assessment; sustainability assessment; sustainable development; sustainability-oriented innovation; stakeholders.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSE.2014.058517

International Journal of Sustainable Economy, 2014 Vol.6 No.1, pp.64 - 81

Published online: 17 Jun 2014 *

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