An Inductive and Multidimensional Approach to Sustainable Innovation: Evidence from Multiple Case Studies

Governments, businesses, researchers and civil society actors need to assess multiple critical issues (e.g. barriers, drivers, opportunities and threats) and put in place diverse management initiatives in order to effectively foster sustainable innovation (SI) processes and achieve multi-systemic transformations. As part of a large European Union-funded mobilisation and mutual learning (MML) effort to advance knowledge and develop a framework for the assessment and management of SI (CASI-F), a broad sample of critical issues have been identified through the mapping and analysis of over 500 sustainability-related initiatives, including product, service, social, organisational, governance, system and marketing innovations. An inductive analysis of these issues served to identify a set of 50 critical factors, which helped to develop a SI management framework structured around ten key aspects and four dimensions. Given the multidimensional and open nature of SI, the issues were also mapped, in parallel, from technological, economic, environmental, political, social, ethical and spatial perspectives. The study thus resulted in a number of practical considerations and lessons for SI management.