Firm Size and Sustainable Innovation Management

Dear Colleagues,

The interest in the relationship between firm size and innovation management dates back to the pioneering studies by Schumpeter. So far, a wealth of research has been conducted on this topic. However, in-depth discussion about the influence of firm size on sustainable innovation management has been neglected, hence requiring further debates as highlighted by Messeni Petruzzelli and Ardito [1].

That is, in the context of sustainable innovation management, there has been the tendency to rely on the “conventional” theories regarding the role of firm size. However, such theories may be not completely valid in this context because of the specific peculiarities differentiating sustainable innovations from conventional ones (e.g., regulations, types of firms - e.g., family vs. non-family - ultimate goals, openness, ethics, and more complex innovation outcomes). Therefore, in the realm of sustainable innovation, a reassessment/repositioning of the role of firm size can be reasonable.

Specifically, it has been proven that firm size may directly affect innovation performance or how firms shape their strategic orientations, organizational structure, knowledge management system, etc. to innovate. Yet, whether these direct influences of firm size remain the same in the context of sustainable innovation management is still an open area of research. Furthermore, it has been shown that, in some cases, the direct effect of firm size is moderated/mediated by other factors (e.g., absorptive capacity) or, conversely, firm size acts as a moderating/mediating factor in explaining innovation performance [2].

This implies that the direct effects that firm size has on sustainable innovation management may be subject to some of its specificities. Likewise, the effects of factors already proved to influence sustainable innovation practices, processes, and outcomes, especially if they are contradictory, can be reassessed by distinguishing firms by their size.

All in all, we contend that there are many open issues in the literature regarding firm size and sustainable innovation management. In line with the above debate, we invite original contributions that increase our comprehension on this topic. We look for papers with theoretical insights, empirical data analysis, case studies or other suitable methods to shed new light on a variety of lines of inquiry, such as:

• repositioning/reconceptualizing the role of firm size in the context of sustainable innovation management;
• assessing which aspects of sustainable innovation management (strategic orientations, organizational structure, business models, firms’ openness, etc.) are mainly influenced by firm size;
• assessing which are the specificities characterizing sustainable innovation practices, processes, and outcomes that may help to revisit the role of firm size;
• reassessing the influence of factors affecting practices, processes, and outcomes related to sustainable innovations in light of the potential moderating influence of firm size;
• evaluating the moderating/mediating factors of the relationship between firm size and sustainable innovation management practices, processes, and outcomes.

References

Messeni Petruzzelli, A., and L. Ardito. (2019). Firm Size and Sustainable Innovation Management. Sustainability 11(21), 6072, https://doi.org/10.3390/su11216072

Messeni Petruzzelli, A., L. Ardito, and T. Savino. (2018). Maturity of knowledge inputs and innovation value: Journal of Business Research 86, 190-201, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.02.009

Prof. Dr. Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli
Dr. Lorenzo Ardito
Collection Editors

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