Organizational creativity and sustainability-oriented innovation as drivers of sustainable development: overcoming firms’ economic, environmental, and social sustainability challenges

Abstract

Purpose: Sustainable development is key to firms’ competitiveness, survival, growth, and profitability, although sustainability emerges as a great challenge. The aim of this study is to analyze the links between organizational creativity (which integrates sustainability orientation), sustainability-oriented innovation, and the multidimensionality of firms’ sustainability performance. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 417 valid responses from manufacturing SMEs were collected through a questionnaire. PLS-SEM is the statistical technique used in the hypothesis testing. Findings: Organizational creativity (which integrates sustainability orientation) and sustainability-oriented innovation are positively associated with economic sustainability performance, environmental sustainability performance, and social sustainability performance; sustainability-oriented innovation has a partial mediation effect on the relationship between organizational creativity and economic, environmental, and social sustainability performance; and organizational creativity (which integrates sustainability orientation) has a positive effect on sustainability-oriented innovation. Originality: Sustainability orientation is integrated into organizational creativity without limiting it, sustainability-oriented innovation encompasses innovation and sustainability in all its breadth without forgetting the innovation process openness, and firm’s sustainability performance has a multi-dimensional approach. Such innovation and creativity contribute –in an interconnected way– to sustainable development, as well as overcoming sustainability challenges and firms’ barriers to sustainability. Likewise, the aforementioned creativity must be implemented throughout the company, even beyond its contribution to the innovation process. Thus, the implementation of new ideas, thoughts, perspectives, views, and mental models –fruit of the described creative process– will generate new models and paths in which firms’ profitability, growth and survival are related with overcoming environmental and social problems.