Sustainability-oriented innovation practices: transforming industrial business models

Abstract

Faced with environmental and social problems, companies need to coordinate and plan their activities to deal with the conscious use of natural resources. Therefore, the present study seeks to describe sustainability-oriented innovation practices and the characteristics of the business model of industrial companies. The research is quantitative and descriptive, carried out through a survey. The sample consisted of 104 Brazilian industrial companies. Data were collected through a questionnaire and descriptive analysis was carried out using SPSS software. Regarding the results, the highest averages were obtained for process and organizational innovations involving the production of goods and services that aim for greater ecological efficiency, such as the use of renewable energy for production and the reorganization of the organizational structure through values and tasks, as well as new forms of management. In the business model, the highest averages focus on the value proposition and the appropriate distribution of the financial model. Thus, it becomes possible to observe that among the universe of companies researched, there are initiatives regarding innovations that seek to bring benefits to companies, society, and the environment. Therefore, the research contributes to the literature on sustainable innovation and business models from a managerial perspective with the industrial sector by exploring the practices adopted by industries.