Determinants of Eco-innovations by Type of Environmental Impact: The Role of Regulatory Push/Pull, Technology Push and Market Pull

39 Pages Posted: 10 Apr 2011

See all articles by Jens Horbach

Jens Horbach

University of Applied Sciences Anhalt

Christian Rammer

ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research - Industrial Economics and International Management Research

Klaus Rennings

Center for European Economic Research (ZEW)

Date Written: April 1, 2011

Abstract

Empirical analyses of the determinants of environmental innovations were rarely able to distinguish between different areas of environmental impacts. The paper tries to close this gap by employing a new and unique dataset based on the German Community Innovation Survey conducted in 2009. The main purpose of the paper is to test whether different types of eco-innovations (according to their environmental impacts) are driven by different factors. Besides a complex set of different supply, firm specific and demand factors, the literature on the determinants of environmental innovations accentuates the important role of regulation, cost savings and customer benefits. We find that current and expected government regulation is particularly important for pushing firms to reduce air (e.g. CO2, SO2 or NOx) as well as water or noise emissions, avoid hazardous substances and increase recyclability of products. Cost savings are an important motivation for reducing energy and material use, pointing to the role of energy and raw materials prices as well as taxation as drivers for eco-innovation. Customer requirements are another important source for eco-innovations, particularly with regard to products with improved environmental performance and process innovations that increase material efficiency, reduce energy consumption and waste and the use of dangerous substances. Firms confirm a high importance of expected future regulations for all environmental product innovations.

Keywords: Environmental Innovation, Environmental Impacts, Discrete Choice Models, Regulation, Cost Savings, Demand Pull, Environmental Policy

JEL Classification: Q55, O33, O38, C25

Suggested Citation

Horbach, Jens and Rammer, Christian and Rennings, Klaus, Determinants of Eco-innovations by Type of Environmental Impact: The Role of Regulatory Push/Pull, Technology Push and Market Pull (April 1, 2011). ZEW - Centre for European Economic Research Discussion Paper No. 10-027, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1805765 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1805765

Jens Horbach

University of Applied Sciences Anhalt ( email )

Pfarrsteig 4
Lichtenfels 96215
Germany

Christian Rammer (Contact Author)

ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research - Industrial Economics and International Management Research ( email )

P.O. Box 10 34 43
L 7,1 D-68161 Mannheim
Germany

Klaus Rennings

Center for European Economic Research (ZEW) ( email )

P.O. Box 10 34 43
L 7,1 D-68161 Mannheim
Germany

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