Green innovation and sustainable performance: A bibliometric analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5585/2025.27834Keywords:
green innovation, sustainable performance, sustainability, green product innovation, green process innovationAbstract
Objective of the study: The study aimed to analyze the literature on green innovation and sustainable performance to identify past trends and develop future research trends.
Methodology/approach: This study uses bibliometric analysis to examine green innovation and sustainable performance papers. Using the Web of Science database, 647 empirical and review papers were collected from 2011 to March 2024. The Biblioshiny package in “R” was used to analyze the documents, focusing on performance, visualization, and mapping metrics.
Originality/relevance: This paper summarizes and integrates the literature that explicitly relates green innovation and sustainable performance, beyond the previously conducted literature that dealt with each construct separately.
Main results: The study revealed that, despite extensive research on the topic of green innovation, direct links to sustainable performance remain scarce and disproportionate in various aspects. Environmental outcomes dominate the literature, whereas social and economic aspects are underrepresented. The dominant nation in terms of publication output and influence was China.
Theoretical/management contributions: This study shows that the theoretical development of green innovation and sustainable performance is incomplete. While environmental aspects are well theorized, social and economic dimensions remain underdeveloped. The results highlight the need to broaden perspectives by incorporating regulatory contexts, organizational capabilities, and knowledge management.
Social/management contributions: For managers, the study offers practical guidance on strategically integrating green innovation into operations. Aligning innovation with sustainability objectives strengthens competitiveness and stakeholder trust. The findings emphasize adapting strategies to institutional and policy contexts and investing in training and development to enhance organizational capacity and sustainability performance.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Christopher O'Brien, Gabriel Owusu, Isaac Tweneboah Agyei, Peter Effah-Amankona
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