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Innovation for Sustainability Development

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (23 September 2023) | Viewed by 6233

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Marketing, Trade and World Forestry, Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, 960 01 Zvolen, Slovakia
Interests: innovation management; innovation analysis and innovation strategy; clusters
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Guest Editor
Department of Communication, University of Zilina, Univerzitna 1, 010 26 Zilina, Slovakia
Interests: business economics; finance; financial management; taxation; business management; clusters; small and medium business

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Innovation is one of the elements of sustainable development. Innovation is an objectively necessary condition for the development of any economy. Within the framework of the issue of sustainable development, innovation is oriented towards the ecological type of innovation, the aim of which is to achieve significant and tangible progress in the framework of sustainable development by reducing the impact on the environment or by more efficient and responsible management of natural resources, including energy. Innovations present opportunities for sustainable development. They facilitate the transition - the transfer of innovative technologies into practice to reduce the consumption of resources and the impact on the environment, so they bring a competitive advantage to many companies and sectors. Innovative approaches are significant to move toward more sustainable systems. Innovative practices and knowledge help society toward sustainability and the creation of informed and responsible consumers.

This Special Issue welcomes studies that consider the environmental, social, and economic aspects of innovation supporting sustainable development. Within this framework, studies should focus on innovations representing positive change aimed at significant or visible progress toward sustainable development by reducing environmental impacts or achieving more efficient and responsible use of natural resources. It will also be open to studies dealing with innovations concentrated on the reuse of natural resources according to the principle of the circular economy—the main opportunities, directions, and obstacles of their implementation in practice, as well as other related arguments.

We look forward to receiving your contributions. 

Dr. Erika Loučanová
Dr. Katarina Repkova Stofkova
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • innovation
  • ecological innovation
  • sustainability
  • development
  • innovation management
  • circular economy

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

26 pages, 1559 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Consumer Behavior: The Driving Force of Innovation in Retail
by Daniela Šálková, Aleš Hes and Petr Kučera
Sustainability 2023, 15(24), 16648; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152416648 - 7 Dec 2023
Viewed by 3922
Abstract
The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented shock to the world economy. Consumer purchase of a country’s brand and the products manufactured in their own country plays a vital role in that country’s GDP, and helps revive the country’s economy. This study focuses [...] Read more.
The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented shock to the world economy. Consumer purchase of a country’s brand and the products manufactured in their own country plays a vital role in that country’s GDP, and helps revive the country’s economy. This study focuses on understanding the factors that influence consumers’ buying behavior, and on modeling these factors to understand the causal relationship, using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The data analysis is based on the online survey carried out between 30 March 2020 and 18 April 2020. A total of 367 responses were collected during this period. The study’s findings indicate that there are changes in consumer buying behavior, and the factors that are decisive for purchasing decisions in times of social crisis are changing. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumers’ lives and the changes in their behavior during and after the crisis. Consumers’ attitudes towards traditionalism and retail innovation are essential for the sustainable development of consumer behavior. Under the influence of change and shopping constraints, unplanned- and impulse-shopping behavior has changed into a deliberate search for more sustainable options, with women shopping for sustainable food more often than men. Women are more health-conscious, and consider sustainable food healthier than conventional food. On the retail side, trusted certification of origin supports the rate of sustainable-food purchases, and, from the viewpoint of innovation, the use of digital communication with consumers across different communication channels and platforms is essential. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation for Sustainability Development)
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18 pages, 1030 KiB  
Article
Innovation as a Tool for Sustainable Development in Small and Medium Size Enterprises in Slovakia
by Erika Loučanová, Martina Nosáľová, Miriam Olšiaková, Zuzana Štofková, Florin Cornel Dumiter, Ștefania Amalia Nicoară and Marius Boiță
Sustainability 2023, 15(21), 15393; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115393 - 28 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1589
Abstract
Background: In the current global market, innovations are one of the tools of sustainable development. Therefore, companies must change their attitudes toward innovation strategies in accordance with international and national environmental standards, laws, and market requirements. We often come across, in particular, the [...] Read more.
Background: In the current global market, innovations are one of the tools of sustainable development. Therefore, companies must change their attitudes toward innovation strategies in accordance with international and national environmental standards, laws, and market requirements. We often come across, in particular, the evaluation of economic factors of sustainability, which cannot capture the attitudes of companies to the solved issue of the perception of innovation as a tool of sustainable development. Therefore, the Kano model and cluster analysis are used to evaluate the attitudes of Slovak small and medium-sized enterprises towards innovation, and the aim of this paper is to evaluate innovation as a tool of sustainability in enterprises in Slovakia. Methods: This article’s main research method is the Kano model and cluster analysis. Conclusions: The findings of this paper reveal how small and medium-sized enterprises in Slovakia perceive innovation as a tool for sustainable development. Based on the results, we can state the positive attitude of small and medium-sized enterprises towards innovations supporting sustainable development, focusing on frugal innovations characterized by cost reduction, as well as innovation targeting functions, standards, laws, and performance optimization. They perceive these innovations as attractive and their implementation in corporate structures as a basic function for sustainable development through innovation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation for Sustainability Development)
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