Innovation: The Central Way to Achieve Corporate Sustainability

Abstract

To be able to endure for decades, sustainable companies have to change five, six time or even more. They go through either technical or organizational changes. Technical changes are related to the products or methods of operation. Organizational changes affect the company’s capabilities and structure.The two approaches, are strongly linked.

Technological innovation is divided into three categories according to its object—a product or a process—, its aspect—either visible or invisible—and the grade of change implicated—radical or incremental. Organizational changes vary according to their order of magnitude and their relative impact for the firm. There are four categories of organizational changes from the mere adaptation to evolution, disruption, and finally revolution.

The main drivers for technological changes are to increase value for the customer, to improve the competitive advantage, to enhance internal resources, or to adapt to the technological evolution of the environment. For organizational change, the motivational forces are either internal or external.

Sustainable companies carefully prepare any change—technological or organizational—with a thorough review of the context including the degree of interest for change, available resources, capabilities, timeframe, motivation of the employees, ability and credibility of the existing leaders to manage a change program. Enduring firms do not hesitate to use outside consultants to guarantee the success in a change program.