Government–Business Partnerships for Radical Eco-Innovation. Issue 3 (March 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lin, Haiying
• Is Part Of: Business and society. Volume 58:Issue 3(2019)
• Page Start: 533
• Page End: 573
• Publication Date: 2019-03
• Subjects: corporate social responsibility (CSR) -- political strategy -- self-regulation -- sustainable development; Industries -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Industrial sociology -- Periodicals; Business ethics -- Periodicals; 306.3
• DOI: 10.1177/0007650316684822
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0007-6503

Abstract

This study assessed whether and how government–business partnerships (GBPs) offer a unique platform that targets profound environmental impacts via the promotion of radical eco-innovation. It applied transactional cost and complementary logics to explain the rationale of GBP formation for radical eco-innovation, and further assessed the operation of GBPs from governance, learning, and rulemaking aspects. This study applied propensity score matching technique to empirically test these theoretical associations using 225 observations representing 166 U.S. firms' participation in 192 environmental alliances between 1985 and 2013. The study results confirmed GBPs' role in channeling public and private efforts in pursuing transformative environmental change via the adoption of radical eco-innovation goals. Results highlight four critical elements of GBP operation—effective governance, exploration learning, cognitive learning, and rulemaking—that enable participants to embrace these radical environmental solutions.