The role of innovation in facilitating sustainable transitions: an analysis of Brazil\'s leading companies

• Ano de defesa: 2024
• Autor(a) principal: Ayala, Liliane Sartorio
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: eng
• Instituição de defesa: Biblioteca Digitais de Teses e Dissertações da USP
• Palavras-chave em Português: Desenvolvimento sustentável; Gestão da sustentabilidade; Innovation types; Inovação sustentável; Sustainability management; Sustainable development; Sustainable innovation; Sustainable transition; Tipos de inovação; Transição sustentável
• Link de acesso: https://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/12/12139/tde-12092024-115457/

Sustainable innovation could be an important path to strengthen the movement towards sustainable transitions. Leading companies in sustainability have potential to address sustainable issues, through their power to mobilize resources, influence markets or simply by inspiring other companies. Research observed publicly traded companies that voluntarily belong to Índice de Sustentabilidade Empresarial (ISE), a sustainable index from Brazilian public stock market, indicating that companies are already engaged in sustainable issues. Concurrently, sample observe companies that are also well ranked at Largest & Best companies in a trustworthy Brazilian Magazine, Revista Exame. The main objective of current research is to understand the role of sustainable innovation in facilitating sustainable transitions in Brazil\'s leading companies. To attend this objective, a documental analysis has been conducted over companies annual reports. Data was collected and categorized observing sustainable innovation typology, proposed from the literature review. Although not well balanced among them, all seven different types of sustainable innovation were found in the selected sample: products and services, processes, organizational, marketing, technology, logistics and social. However, most of them did not bring forward all seven types. Results obtained indicate that companies tend to innovate towards sustainability mainly through organizational and processes innovation types. Each innovation type was further split into in 34 subtype. The most frequent subtypes found were Human Resources and Governance, nested under organizational sustainable innovation type. Followed by supply chain subtype, previously nested under processes as a subtype, but here promoted to a sustainable innovation type due to its prominence. Another highlight is the Communitys type of innovation, demonstrating a companies tendency to innovate beyond their bussiness core, attending communities social, environmental and economic needs. When a company innovates across all types of sustainable innovations, the more it facilitates sustainable transition. In total, 8 Brazilian leading company have all subtypes of sustainable innovations, although in an unbalanced proportion, demonstrating an initial progress towards sustainable transitions.