Abstract
In order to capitalize on the opportunities offered by changing dynamics and structures, companies need to innovate constantly and sustainably. Despite the fact that opening up the innovation process to include stakeholders can increase companies’ innovation performance and reputation, the concepts of stakeholder engagement and innovation have so far remained rather isolated from each other (Gould, J Technol Manage Innov 7:1–11, 2012). As little is known about how stakeholder engagement is used in the innovation process of SMEs, this study is focused on the importance of supplier engagement for creating sustainable innovations. The analysis shows that suppliers play a stimulating role for SMEs and are increasingly becoming a valuable partner in their innovation process. Collaborating with suppliers is a means to exchange experiences and information on best practices and offers benefits such as operational cost savings, further partnership opportunities along with a better approach to emerging consumer concerns. Technological, social and environmental innovation is necessary to bring about sustainability, and a supplier partnership approach is critical for achieving results.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
This paper is a revised version of a paper entitled ‘Supplier Partnerships for Creating Sustainable Innovations—The Case of Austrian SMEs’, presented at the RENT XXX Conference, November 16–18, 2016, Antwerp, Belgium.
References
Adams, R., Bessant, J., & Phelps, R. (2006). Innovation management measurement: A review. International Journal of Management Reviews, 8, 21–47. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2370.2006.00119.x
Altenburger, R., & Gaissberger, C. (2014). Sustainable innovation: Evidence from Austrian SMEs. In The XXV ISPIM Conference – innovation for sustainable economy & society. Presented at the ISPIM Conference, Dublin.
Asongu, J. J. (2007). Innovation as an argument for corporate social responsibility. Journal of Business and Public Policy, 1(3), 1–21.
Baregheh, A., Rowley, J., & Sambrook, S. (2009). Towards a multidisciplinary definition of innovation. Management Decision, 47, 1323–1339. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740910984578
Boesso, G., & Kumar, K. (2009). An investigation of stakeholder prioritization and engagement: Who or what really counts. Journal of Accounting and Organizational Change, 5, 62–80. https://doi.org/10.1108/18325910910932214
Chesbrough, H. W. (2003). Open innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Collins, E., & Kearins, K. (2007). Exposing students to the potential and risks of stakeholder engagement when teaching sustainability: A classroom exercise. Journal of Management Education, 31, 521–540. https://doi.org/10.1177/1052562906291307
Delgado-Verde, M., Martín de Castro, G., Navas-López, J. E., & Amores-Salvadó, J. (2014). Vertical relationships, complementarity and product innovation: An intellectual capital-based view. Knowledge Management Research and Practice, 12, 226–235. https://doi.org/10.1057/kmrp.2012.59
Donaldson, T., & Preston, L. E. (1995). The stakeholder theory of the corporation: Concepts, evidence, and implications. Academy of Management Review, 20, 65–91. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.1995.9503271992
Feng, T., Sun, L., & Zhang, Y. (2010). The effects of customer and supplier involvement on competitive advantage: An empirical study in China. Industrial Marketing Management, 39, 1384–1394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2010.04.006
Foster, D., & Jonker, J. (2005). Stakeholder relationships: The dialogue of engagement. Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society, 5, 51–57. https://doi.org/10.1108/14720700510630059
Freeman, C. (1974). The economics of industrial innovation. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach, Pitman series in business and public policy. Boston: Pitman.
Freeman, R. E., Harrison, J. S., Wicks, A. S., Parmar, B. L., & de Colle, S. (2010). Stakeholder theory: The state of the art. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Greenwood, M. (2007). Stakeholder engagement: Beyond the myth of corporate responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 74, 315–327. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9509-y
Hart, S. L., & Sharma, S. (2004). Engaging fringe stakeholders for competitive imagination. IEEE Engineering Management Review, 32, 28–28. https://doi.org/10.1109/EMR.2004.25105
Hockerts, K., Copenhagen Business School, CBS Center for Corporate Social Responsibility, & Copenhagen Business School. (2007). Managerial perceptions of the business case for corporate social responsibility. Frederiksberg: CBS Center for Corporate Social Responsibility.
Jenkins, H. (2004). A critique of conventional CSR theory: An SME perspective. Journal of General Management, 29, 37–57.
Jenkins, H. (2006). Small business champions for corporate social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 67, 241–256. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9182-6
Jonker, J., & Foster, D. (2002). Stakeholder excellence: Framing the evolution and complexity of a stakeholder perspective of the firm. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 9, 187–195.
Kanter, R. M. (1999). From spare change to real change: The social sector as beta site for business innovation. Harvard Business Review, 77, 122–132.
Klewitz, J., & Hansen, E. G. (2014). Sustainability-oriented innovation of SMEs: A systematic review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 65, 57–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.07.017
Magnusson, P. R., Matthing, J., & Kristensson, P. (2003). Managing user involvement in service innovation: Experiments with innovating end users. Journal of Service Research, 6, 111–124. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670503257028
Martovoy, A. (2014). Advantages and disadvantages of open innovation: Evidence from financial services. In A.-L. Mention & M. Torkkeli (Eds.), Innovation in financial services a dual ambiguity (pp. 259–294). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Mayring, P. (2010). Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse. In G. Mey & K. Mruck (Eds.), Handbuch Qualitative Forschung in der Psychologie (pp. 601–613). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
OECD, Eurostat. (2005). Oslo manual, the measurement of scientific and technological activities. Paris: OECD.
Perrini, F. (2006). SMEs and CSR theory: Evidence and implications from an Italian perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 67, 305–316. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9186-2
Schumpeter, J. A. (1934). The theory of economic development: An inquiry into profits, capital, credit, interest, and the business cycle. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Sharma, S. (2005). Through the lens of managerial interpretations: Stakeholder engagement, organizational knowledge and innovation. In S. Sharma & J. A. Aragón Correa (Eds.), Corporate environmental strategy and competitive advantage, new perspectives in research on corporate sustainability (pp. 49–70). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Siggelkow, N. (2007). Persuasion with case studies. Academy of Management Journal, 50, 20–24. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMJ.2007.24160882
Stigson, B. (2002). Pillars of change: Business is finally learning that taking care of the environment and meeting social responsibilities makes good business sense. Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy, 16, 23.
Vanhaverbeke, W., Van de Vrande, V., & Chesbrough, H. (2008). Understanding the advantages of open innovation practices in corporate venturing in terms of real options. Creativity and Innovation Management, 17, 251–258. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8691.2008.00499.x
Wayne Gould, R. (2012). Open innovation and stakeholder engagement. Journal of Technology Management & Innovation, 7, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-27242012000300001
Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study research: Design and methods (3rd ed.). Los Angeles: SAGE.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bachner, C. (2018). Supplier Engagement in the Sustainable Innovation Process: A Qualitative Analysis of Austrian SMEs. In: Altenburger, R. (eds) Innovation Management and Corporate Social Responsibility. CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93629-1_19
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93629-1_19
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-93628-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-93629-1
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)