Systematic Review - Network for Business Sustainability

To address the needs of all firms, it is valuable to
map, learn from and share the experiences of both
Operational Optimizers and the rare, pioneering
Organizational Transformational firms. Many firms still
need support to learn how to embark on becoming
sustainable. Consequently, in this review we address
the questions of how firms can become more “green”
and how they can progress “beyond green.” 2 In fact,
we found no empirical evidence of firms in the final
context of Systems Building. Rather, it represents an
ideal or aspirational state, a logical extension of the
ambition, experimentation and exploration evident
among Operational Transformers.
Figure 1
THREE CONTEXTS OF SUSTAINABILITY-ORIENTED INNOVATION
This model, which is fully explained on page 17, has
helped guide us in the analysis of the primary studies.
Our findings are based on a review of 100 peer-reviewed
academic journal articles and 27 non-academic sources
(see Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 for methodology and
descriptive analysis). In our exploration of SOI, we move
from a general discussion of the phenomenon to a more
specific consideration of SOI activities. The remainder of
the report is organized as follows.
First, we provide a short history of SOI and highlight the
characteristics that distinguish it from more traditional
innovation. Next, we describe the development of
2 The use of the word green is something of a double-edged sword. It is a powerful symbolic articulation of one aspect of sustainability thinking,
a rallying post around which debate and action can muster. On the other hand, it obscures the wider meaning of sustainability, and the social
dimension is often lost.
Innovating for Sustainability 9