Drivers of environmental innovation - Vinnova

adapted, with the latter indicating the most proactive, permeating level of
environmental work. Firm size was strongly correlated to the advancement of
environmental activities. The smallest firms (1000 employees) had either adopted a strategy
to optimise their activities in relation to current and future demands from the
market and from authorities, or, as in the majority of the cases, had an even
more ambitious strategy. In the latter case the firms could be said to be
proactive and would include a environmental dimension in their decision
making and strategy development (Heidenmark, 1999).
However, a partially deviating result is presented by Hemmelskamp.
Environmental innovations were shown in this study to be a priority above all
in very small and very large firms and less so in middle-sized ones. A possible
explanation proposed is that the dedicated environmental technology industry
is mainly composed of small firms (Hemmelskamp, Forthcoming).
3.4 Inter-firm relations relay and transform environmental demands
Firms producing consumer goods have been at the forefront of environmental
work. This is confirmed by Malaman, who states that product innovations in
the area of cleaner technology are more likely to be driven by spontaneous
market demand than process innovations (Malaman, 1996).
Business to business demand on environmental issues is a channel of
environmental demands from consumer goods firms and large firms, and thus
a potentially powerful driver of environmental work in small firms. This was
also studied by Heidenmark, who found in her study that 75 per cent of the
largest firms (>1000 employees) placed environmental demands on their
suppliers, and only 10-20 per cent of the smallest firms (