Title: Determinants of economic performance of environmental technology-based offers: a cross-sectional study of small Swedish firms

Authors: Marcus Linder

Addresses: Viktoria Swedish ICT AB, Lindholmspiren 3A, SE-417 56 Göteborg, Sweden

Abstract: The paper examines the association between offer differentiation based on environmental orientation and economic performance. The analysis consists of an ordinary least-squares regression based on accounting data and a survey of the leaders of small environmental technology-based firms in Sweden. The results indicate that eco-efficiency creating a low total cost of ownership is more strongly associated with offer performance than is regulatory support, eco-branding, eco-quality differentiation and provision of strategic environmental information. This suggests that environmental differentiation of offers is the most successful when it is associated with a low total cost of ownership for customers.

Keywords: environmental technology; green innovation; green business models; eco-efficiency; proactive environmental strategy; environmental differentiation; environmental innovation; environmental profit; sustainability business case; sustainable development; economic performance; firm performance; small firms; Sweden; offer differentiation; ordinary least squares; OLS; accounting data; total cost of ownership; regulatory support; eco-branding; eco-quality differentiation; strategic environmental information.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISD.2016.077502

International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, 2016 Vol.10 No.3, pp.237 - 259

Accepted: 04 Jun 2015
Published online: 04 Jul 2016 *

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