TY - JOUR

T1 - The geography of environmental innovation

T2 - a critical review and agenda for future research

AU - Losacker, Sebastian

AU - Hansmeier, Hendrik

AU - Horbach, Jens

AU - Liefner, Ingo

N1 - Funding Information: An earlier version of this paper has been presented at the annual AK Industriegeographie meeting in November 2021. We thank all participants for their comments. We are particularly grateful for critical comments by Johan Miörner on the working paper version of this article during the EU-SPRI Winter School on Geography of Innovation at CIRCLE in Lund, Sweden, in February 2022. A previous version of this paper has been published as a working paper with CIRCLE (Papers in Innovation Studies no. 2021/15). We acknowledge financial support from the German Research Foundation (DFG Li981/18-1) and from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF 031B1281).

PY - 2023/8

Y1 - 2023/8

N2 - This article provides a critical literature review on the regional determinants of environmental innovation. The analysis of the relevant literature on supply-side factors, demand-side factors, and institutional factors reveals the importance of regional determinants in green technology development. Specifically, regional R&D collaborations, university-industry collaborations, and technological relatedness have positive effects on innovation activities in green domains. On the demand side, regional environmental awareness and demonstration effects play a pivotal role in the emergence and diffusion of environmental innovations. Environmental regulations also induce environmental innovation, however, there is only limited evidence at the regional level. Our literature review has informed the development of an agenda for future research, which suggests three avenues for further investigation. Firstly, we recommend abandoning the simple green vs. non-green dichotomy and conducting more technology-sensitive studies on the determinants of environmental innovation. Secondly, we call for a more sophisticated and critical engagement with regional institutions, with a focus on both formal and informal institutions. Lastly, we propose a demand-side turn in research on the regional determinants of environmental innovation in order to better understand their diffusion across space. Overall, our findings suggest that policymakers need to adopt a more nuanced and comprehensive approach to eco-innovation policy, one that considers the spatial and multi-level governance challenges and promotes inclusive regional development.

AB - This article provides a critical literature review on the regional determinants of environmental innovation. The analysis of the relevant literature on supply-side factors, demand-side factors, and institutional factors reveals the importance of regional determinants in green technology development. Specifically, regional R&D collaborations, university-industry collaborations, and technological relatedness have positive effects on innovation activities in green domains. On the demand side, regional environmental awareness and demonstration effects play a pivotal role in the emergence and diffusion of environmental innovations. Environmental regulations also induce environmental innovation, however, there is only limited evidence at the regional level. Our literature review has informed the development of an agenda for future research, which suggests three avenues for further investigation. Firstly, we recommend abandoning the simple green vs. non-green dichotomy and conducting more technology-sensitive studies on the determinants of environmental innovation. Secondly, we call for a more sophisticated and critical engagement with regional institutions, with a focus on both formal and informal institutions. Lastly, we propose a demand-side turn in research on the regional determinants of environmental innovation in order to better understand their diffusion across space. Overall, our findings suggest that policymakers need to adopt a more nuanced and comprehensive approach to eco-innovation policy, one that considers the spatial and multi-level governance challenges and promotes inclusive regional development.

KW - Environmental innovation

KW - Geography of innovation

KW - Green technology

KW - Regional development

KW - Sustainability transitions

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85165089039&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s10037-023-00193-6

DO - 10.1007/s10037-023-00193-6

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85165089039

VL - 43

SP - 291

EP - 316

JO - Review of Regional Research

JF - Review of Regional Research

SN - 0173-7600

IS - 2

ER -