Drivers of eco-innovation in developing countries: the case of Chilean firms

Abstract

Despite the growing literature on the drivers of eco-innovation, few studies analyze it in developing countries. Therefore, to fill this gap, this paper aims to analyze the influence of different groups of drivers of eco-innovation (technology push, market pull and regulatory push-pull) on two types of eco-innovations: Resources Efficiency and Sustainable Sensitiveness, differentiating between varieties of innovation -product and process- and between the novelty degree- incremental and radical-. The empirical analysis is built using multivariate probit models and considering a sample of Chilean firms in the period 2009-2016. Results show a displacement of open innovation drivers when a developing country is analyzed; Collaboration with Partners, Alliances and Networks, along with the Non R&D Embedded are predominant technological push strategies in this analysis. Furthermore, Market factors would have a driving effect on eco-innovations, while the Public Support is weakly significant.