Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the interplay of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and green innovation in boosting competitiveness in manufacturing in an emerging market context. This study adds green innovation as mediator in the relationship between CSR and competitiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

A model with three second-order constructs is developed and tested, in a sample of 325 managers from manufacturing companies in Ecuador, using quantitative and cross-section methods.

Findings

After obtaining adjusted and validated measurement models, a structural equation model was conducted, where the main hypotheses were confirmed, providing empirical evidence that CSR and green innovation significantly influence manufacturing competitiveness in a developing economy.

Research limitations/implications

This study considers only manufacturing companies in Ecuador, focusing on CSR practices in a single territorial case study. It arguably contributes to reinforce the business case for CSR, with new evidence on the causal relationships between CSR, green innovation and competitiveness, in the context of emerging market manufacturing industries. Although the literature often points at a positive relationship between CSR and firm-level competitiveness, supporting empirical evidence remains scarce. This model, introducing green innovation as mediator in the relationship between CSR and competitiveness in developing markets, accounts for a novel theoretical approach.

Practical implications

The findings are consistent with previous research, reporting the positive influence of CSR activities on organizational competitiveness, reducing risks and cost structures, as well as improving the relationship with employees, enhancing talent attraction, retention and productivity. Incorporating formal CSR tools to the model allowed us to highlight the relevance of ‘green’ certifications as a means to provide a competitive edge, along with increased bargaining power in the supply chain, resulting in competitiveness gains. The findings on the role of green innovation suggest a transition from cost-savings to a more strategic leverage on responsible innovation as a source of competitive advantage.

Social implications

Additionally, this research contributes to shed light on the impact of green processes and product innovations on social and environmental performance, providing evidence of a more efficient use of energy and natural resources, increasing productivity and by extension, profitability. CSR shapes an innovation culture that, through the use of social, environmental and sustainability controllers, can create new business models, products, services or processes that boost both firm-level and supply chain productivity, benefits that eventually spill over to the host community.

Originality/value

This study aims at bridging the research gap on the interplay of CSR, green innovation and competitiveness in manufacturing in an emerging market context.

中文翻译：

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企业社会责任、绿色创新与竞争力——制造业的因果关系

目的

本文的目的是探讨企业社会责任 (CSR) 和绿色创新在新兴市场背景下提高制造业竞争力方面的相互作用。本研究增加了绿色创新作为企业社会责任与竞争力之间关系的中介。

设计/方法/方法

使用定量和横截面方法，在厄瓜多尔制造公司的 325 名经理样本中开发和测试了一个具有三个二阶结构的模型。

发现

在获得调整和验证的测量模型后，构建了结构方程模型，其中主要假设得到了证实，为企业社会责任和绿色创新显着影响发展中经济体的制造业竞争力提供了经验证据。

研究限制/影响

本研究仅考虑厄瓜多尔的制造公司，重点关注单一地区案例研究中的企业社会责任实践。在新兴市场制造业的背景下，它可以说有助于加强企业社会责任的商业案例，并提供关于企业社会责任、绿色创新和竞争力之间因果关系的新证据。尽管文献经常指出企业社会责任与公司层面的竞争力之间存在正相关关系，但支持性的经验证据仍然很少。该模型引入了绿色创新作为企业社会责任与发展中市场竞争力之间关系的中介，解释了一种新颖的理论方法。

实际影响

调查结果与之前的研究一致，报告了企业社会责任活动对组织竞争力、降低风险和成本结构以及改善与员工的关系、提高人才吸引力、保留率和生产力的积极影响。将正式的 CSR 工具纳入模型使我们能够强调“绿色”认证作为提供竞争优势的手段的相关性，同时增加供应链中的议价能力，从而提高竞争力。关于绿色创新作用的研究结果表明，从节约成本到将负责任的创新作为竞争优势来源的更具战略意义的杠杆作用的转变。

社会影响

此外，这项研究有助于阐明绿色工艺和产品创新对社会和环境绩效的影响，为更有效地利用能源和自然资源、提高生产力并进而提高盈利能力提供证据。企业社会责任塑造了一种创新文化，通过使用社会、环境和可持续发展控制者，可以创造新的商业模式、产品、服务或流程，从而提高公司层面和供应链的生产力，最终惠及东道国社区。

原创性/价值

本研究旨在弥合新兴市场背景下企业社会责任、绿色创新和制造业竞争力之间相互作用的研究空白。