Dynamic capabilities for sustainable innovation: the case of a footwear company in Brazil

Rodrigues, Bruna Cavalcanti Barros; Gohr, Cláudia Fabiana; Calazans, Álvaro Marques Borges

doi:10.1590/0103-6513.20190108

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Research Article • Prod. 30 • 2020 • https://doi.org/10.1590/0103-6513.20190108 copy

Dynamic capabilities for sustainable innovation: the case of a footwear company in Brazil

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

Paper aims

This paper aims to investigate which dynamic capabilities are responsible for sustainable innovation.

Originality

Based on the literature review, we propose a theoretical framework that relates dynamic capabilities to sustainable innovation (considering triple bottom line perceptive), regarding product, process marketing, and organizational innovations typologies.

Research method

The framework was applied in this research through a case study method in two plants of a large footwear company that operates in the Northeastern region of Brazil. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews, observation, and company documents.

Main findings

The company developed sustainable innovation focusing on processes and products. The economic aspect of sustainability has a strong influence on these innovations, followed by the environmental aspect. The technological and resource integration are the most critical capabilities.

Implications for theory and practice

The paper contributes to understanding how DCs are deployed to boost sustainable innovation regarding the product, process, marketing, and organizational innovations typologies. Recognizing which DCs are necessary for sustainable innovation is a first step in being able to manage better and enhance sustainability considering the TBL perspective.

Keywords
Dynamic capabilities; Sustainable innovation; Triple bottom line

Innovation	Description	Source
Organizational	Organizational innovations refer to the way in which the company determines and uses the appropriate resources, introducing new management techniques, concepts, and work practices to maximize the company's performance. Implementing of a new organizational method in the company's business practices, in the organization of the workplace or in its external relations.	(Gabler et al., 2015Gabler, C. B., Richey Junior, R. G., & Rapp, A. (2015). Developing an eco-capability through environmental orientation and organizational innovativeness. Industrial Marketing Management, 45, 151-161. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.02.014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.20... ), (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2005Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – OECD. (2005). Oslo manual: guidelines for collecting and interpreting innovation data (3rd ed.). Paris: OECD. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264013100-en. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264013100-en... )
Product	Product innovation can be defined as the initiation, development, and implementation of new or improved products. This includes significant improvements in technical specifications, components and materials, embedded software, ease of use or other functional features.	(Huang et al., 2016Huang, Y. C., Yang, M. L., & Wong, Y. J. (2016). The effect of internal factors and family influence on firms’ adoption of green product innovation. Management Research Review, 39(10), 1167-1198. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/MRR-02-2015-0031. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/MRR-02-2015-00... ), (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2005Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – OECD. (2005). Oslo manual: guidelines for collecting and interpreting innovation data (3rd ed.). Paris: OECD. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264013100-en. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264013100-en... )
Process	The adoption of new technologies or relevant improvements, methods, equipment and / or skills used to perform the service. In addition, process innovation encompasses the prediction of new work strategies, innovative process design, and implementation of change in all its complex technological, human, organizational, and technological dimensions.	(Moyano-Fuentes et al., 2018Moyano-Fuentes, J., Maqueira-Marín, J. M., & Bruque-Cámara, S. (2018). Process innovation and environmental sustainability engagement: an application on technological firms. Journal of Cleaner Production, 171, 844-856. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.10.067. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017... ), (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2005Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – OECD. (2005). Oslo manual: guidelines for collecting and interpreting innovation data (3rd ed.). Paris: OECD. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264013100-en. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264013100-en... )
Marketing	Is related to how marketers use to assume their responsibilities to guide innovations. It is the implementation of a new marketing method, involving significant changes in the product design or packaging, product placement, product promotion, or in the price.	(Kumar, 2015Kumar, P. (2015). Green marketing innovations in small Indian firms. World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 11(3), 176-190. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/WJEMSD-01-2015-0003. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/WJEMSD-01-2015... ), (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2005Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – OECD. (2005). Oslo manual: guidelines for collecting and interpreting innovation data (3rd ed.). Paris: OECD. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264013100-en. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264013100-en... )

DYNAMIC CAPABILITIES	TYPE OF SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION
DYNAMIC CAPABILITIES	Product / Service	Process	Organizational	Marketing
Marketing	1	1	1	1
Partnership	3; 4; 7	4
Technological	3; 5; 6; 12; 14	5; 6; 10
Absorptive	2; 3; 7; 14	2
R&D	5; 6; 12	5; 6
Resource integration	5; 11	5
Organizational	6; 8; 13	6; 8; 13	9

Notes: (1) Mariadoss et al. (2011)Mariadoss, B. J., Tansuhaj, P. S., & Mouri, N. (2011). Marketing capabilities and innovation-based strategies for environmental sustainability: an exploratory investigation of B2B firms. Industrial Marketing Management, 40(8), 1305-1318. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2011.10.006.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.20... ; (2) Ketata et al. (2014)Ketata, I., Sofka, W., & Grimpe, C. (2014). The role of internal capabilities and firms’ environment for sustainable innovation: evidence for G ermany. R&D Management, 45(1), 60-75. https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12052.
https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12052... , (3) Wu et al. (2015)Wu, K.-J., Liao, C.-J., Tseng, M.-L., & Chou, P.-J. (2015). Understanding innovation for sustainable business management capabilities and competencies under uncertainty. Sustainability, 7(10), 13726-13760. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su71013726.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su71013726... , (4) De Clercq et al. (2018)De Clercq, D., Thongpapanl, N., & Voronov, M. (2018). Sustainability in the face of institutional adversity: market turbulence, network embeddedness, and innovative orientation. Journal of Business Ethics, 148(2), 437-455. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-3004-7.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-300... , (5) Rahman et al. (2015)Rahman, M. N. A., Doroodian, M., Kamarulzaman, Y., & Muhamad, N. (2015). Designing and validating a model for measuring sustainability of overall innovation capability of small and medium-sized enterprises. Sustainability, 7(1), 537-562. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su7010537.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su7010537... , (6) Lai et al. (2015)Lai, W. H., Lin, C. C., & Wang, T. C. (2015). Exploring the interoperability of innovation capability and corporate sustainability. Journal of Business Research, 68(4), 867-871. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.11.043.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2014... , (7) Nielsen et al (2016)Nielsen, K. R., Reisch, L. A., & Thøgersen, J. (2016). Sustainable user innovation from a policy perspective: a systematic literature review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 133, 65-77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.05.092.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016... , (8) Mousavi & Bossink (2017)Mousavi, S., & Bossink, B. A. G. (2017). Firms’ capabilities for sustainable innovation: the case of biofuel for aviation. Journal of Cleaner Production, 167, 1263-1275. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.07.146.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017... , (9) Inigo et al. (2017)Inigo, E. A., Albareda, L., & Ritala, P. (2017). Business model innovation for sustainability: exploring evolutionary and radical approaches through dynamic capabilities. Industry and Innovation, 24(5), 515-542. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13662716.2017.1310034.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13662716.2017.... , (10) Moyano-Fuentes et al. (2018)Moyano-Fuentes, J., Maqueira-Marín, J. M., & Bruque-Cámara, S. (2018). Process innovation and environmental sustainability engagement: an application on technological firms. Journal of Cleaner Production, 171, 844-856. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.10.067.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017... , (11) Dangelico et al. (2017)Dangelico, R. M., Pujari, D., & Pontrandolfo, P. (2017). Green product innovation in manufacturing firms: a sustainability-oriented dynamic capability perspective. Business Strategy and the Environment, 26(4), 490-506. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bse.1932.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bse.1932... , (12) Kennedy et al. (2017)Kennedy, S., Whiteman, G., & van den Ende, J. (2017). Radical innovation for sustainability : the power of strategy and open innovation. Long Range Planning, 50(6), 712-725. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2016.05.004.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2016.05.... , (13) Boscoianu et al. (2018)Boscoianu, M., Prelipcean, G., & Lupan, M. (2018). Innovation enterprise as a vehicle for sustainable development – A general framework for the design of typical strategies based on enterprise systems engineering, dynamic capabilities, and option thinking. Journal of Cleaner Production, 172(13), 3498-3507. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.06.120.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017... , (14) He et al. (2018)He, F., Miao, X., Wong, C. W. Y., & Lee, S. (2018). Contemporary corporate eco-innovation research: A systematic review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 174, 502-526. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.10.314.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017... .

Capability	Definition	Authors
Marketing	It influences the development of sustainable strategies based on innovation through the use of specialized marketing resources: pricing, marketing communications, sales, product development, and distribution.	Mariadoss et al. (2011)Mariadoss, B. J., Tansuhaj, P. S., & Mouri, N. (2011). Marketing capabilities and innovation-based strategies for environmental sustainability: an exploratory investigation of B2B firms. Industrial Marketing Management, 40(8), 1305-1318. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2011.10.006. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.20...
Partnership	It is essential for collecting and sharing knowledge, aiding in the production of innovation of the company, allowing an innovative collaboration.	Kleber et al. (2019)Kleber, M., Ayala, N. F., Le Dain, M. A., Marcon, É., & Frank, A. G. (2019). Knowledge sharing in collaborative new product development: a study of grey box supplier involvement configuration. Producao, 29, 1-16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0103-6513.20180070. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0103-6513.2018... , Wu et al. (2015)Wu, K.-J., Liao, C.-J., Tseng, M.-L., & Chou, P.-J. (2015). Understanding innovation for sustainable business management capabilities and competencies under uncertainty. Sustainability, 7(10), 13726-13760. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su71013726. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su71013726... , De Clercq et al. (2018)De Clercq, D., Thongpapanl, N., & Voronov, M. (2018). Sustainability in the face of institutional adversity: market turbulence, network embeddedness, and innovative orientation. Journal of Business Ethics, 148(2), 437-455. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-3004-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-300...
Technological	It plays an important role in innovation. The readiness to update and integrate new technologies can enable innovation for the development of products and services, marketing, and even for management processes. New approaches for developing knowledge to perform management functions and new processes that produce changes in the organization's strategy, structure, administrative procedures, and systems.	Moyano-Fuentes et al. (2018)Moyano-Fuentes, J., Maqueira-Marín, J. M., & Bruque-Cámara, S. (2018). Process innovation and environmental sustainability engagement: an application on technological firms. Journal of Cleaner Production, 171, 844-856. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.10.067. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017... , Wu et al. (2015)Wu, K.-J., Liao, C.-J., Tseng, M.-L., & Chou, P.-J. (2015). Understanding innovation for sustainable business management capabilities and competencies under uncertainty. Sustainability, 7(10), 13726-13760. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su71013726. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su71013726... , Lall (1992)Lall, S. (1992). Technological capabilities and industrialization. World Development, 20(2), 165-186. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0305-750X(92)90097-F. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0305-750X(92)9...
Absorptive	It is the company's ability to extract relevant knowledge from the market and integrate it into new products and services, as well as into the entire organization.	Wu et al. (2015)Wu, K.-J., Liao, C.-J., Tseng, M.-L., & Chou, P.-J. (2015). Understanding innovation for sustainable business management capabilities and competencies under uncertainty. Sustainability, 7(10), 13726-13760. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su71013726. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su71013726... , Ketata et al. (2014)Ketata, I., Sofka, W., & Grimpe, C. (2014). The role of internal capabilities and firms’ environment for sustainable innovation: evidence for G ermany. R&D Management, 45(1), 60-75. https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12052. https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12052... , Cohen & Levinthal (1990)Cohen, W. M., & Levinthal, D. A. (1990). Absorptive capacity : a new perspective on and innovation learning. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(1), 128-152. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2393553. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2393553...
Research and Development (R&D)	The company shares knowledge with the R & D department to support the capacity for corporate innovation. It is related to the implementation of new technologies and processes.	Kennedy et al. (2017)Kennedy, S., Whiteman, G., & van den Ende, J. (2017). Radical innovation for sustainability : the power of strategy and open innovation. Long Range Planning, 50(6), 712-725. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2016.05.004. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2016.05.... , Lai et al. (2015)Lai, W. H., Lin, C. C., & Wang, T. C. (2015). Exploring the interoperability of innovation capability and corporate sustainability. Journal of Business Research, 68(4), 867-871. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.11.043. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2014... , Ketata et al. (2014)Ketata, I., Sofka, W., & Grimpe, C. (2014). The role of internal capabilities and firms’ environment for sustainable innovation: evidence for G ermany. R&D Management, 45(1), 60-75. https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12052. https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12052...
Resource Interaction	Competitive advantage comes not only from the possession of such resources but also from the way they are used. Thus, it is related to how the organization integrates its resources in order to reduce consumption and, consequently, reduce damages to the environment and improve health and safety conditions.	Rahman et al. (2015)Rahman, M. N. A., Doroodian, M., Kamarulzaman, Y., & Muhamad, N. (2015). Designing and validating a model for measuring sustainability of overall innovation capability of small and medium-sized enterprises. Sustainability, 7(1), 537-562. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su7010537. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su7010537... , Ketata et al. (2014)Ketata, I., Sofka, W., & Grimpe, C. (2014). The role of internal capabilities and firms’ environment for sustainable innovation: evidence for G ermany. R&D Management, 45(1), 60-75. https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12052. https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12052...
Organizational	A company's innovation for sustainability depends, to a large extent, on the effectiveness with which the company co-opts the complementary resources and skills around an innovation opportunity, individually and collectively. It is responsible for identifying the problem and constraints of the business (time, resources, and market).	Moyano-Fuentes et al. (2018)Moyano-Fuentes, J., Maqueira-Marín, J. M., & Bruque-Cámara, S. (2018). Process innovation and environmental sustainability engagement: an application on technological firms. Journal of Cleaner Production, 171, 844-856. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.10.067. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017... , Mousavi & Bossink, (2017)Mousavi, S., & Bossink, B. A. G. (2017). Firms’ capabilities for sustainable innovation: the case of biofuel for aviation. Journal of Cleaner Production, 167, 1263-1275. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.07.146. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017... , Wu et al. (2015)Wu, K.-J., Liao, C.-J., Tseng, M.-L., & Chou, P.-J. (2015). Understanding innovation for sustainable business management capabilities and competencies under uncertainty. Sustainability, 7(10), 13726-13760. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su71013726. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su71013726... , Ketata et al. (2014)Ketata, I., Sofka, W., & Grimpe, C. (2014). The role of internal capabilities and firms’ environment for sustainable innovation: evidence for G ermany. R&D Management, 45(1), 60-75. https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12052. https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12052...

Description		Where
Objective	To investigate which dynamic capabilities are responsible for sustainable innovation	Section 1
Theoretical support and variables	- Innovation typologies (product, process, marketing and organizational) - DC: marketing, partnership, technological, absorptive, R&D, resource interaction, and organizational	- Section 2 (Table 1 – innovation definitions) - Section 2.1 (Table 3 – DC definitions)
unit of analysis	Two manufacturing plants in the Northeastern region of Brazil	Presented in section 3
Interviewees	(i) Sports articles R&D manager (ii) Sporting goods materials manager (iii) Sporting goods project analyst, (iv) Fashion shoe manager (v) Supervisor of fashion shoe development.	Presented in section 3
Data collection location	Manufacturing units	Presented in section 3
Period	June and August 2018	Presented in section 3
Synthesis of interview guidelines	(i) Knowing the company (4 questions); (ii) Knowing the interviewee (4 questions); (iii) Regarding environmental issues (4 questions); (iv) Concerning environmental issues (3 questions); (v) Knowing the company's innovations (4 questions); (vi) Recognizing the types of innovations and their relationship to aspects of sustainability (5 questions); (vii) Recognizing dynamic capabilities and their relationship with the development of sustainable innovations (1 question): capability for partnership (5 questions); R&D capability (5 questions); marketing capability (two questions); technological capability (4 questions); absorptive capability (3 questions); capability to integrate resources (4 questions); organizational capability (3 questions). (viii) Final remarks (5 questions regarding the challenges for the development of sustainable innovations)

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