Over the past decade, companies have become increasingly aware of the social and environmental pressures facing business. Many management scholars and consultants have argued that these new demands offer terrific opportunities for progressive organizations, and innovation is one of the primary means by which companies can achieve sustainable growth.1 Companies that ignore these pressures, the argument goes, do so at their own peril. But the reality is that managers have had considerable difficulty dealing with sustainable development pressures. In particular, their innovation strategies are often inadequate to accommodate the highly complex and uncertain nature of these new demands.
A strategy that integrates the goals of innovation and sustainable development is needed. In contrast to conventional, market-driven innovation, sustainable development innovation (SDI) must incorporate the added constraints of social and environmental pressures as well as consider future generations.2 SDI is therefore usually more complex (because there is typically a wider range of stakeholders) and more ambiguous (as many of the parties have contradictory demands). Furthermore, sustainable development pressures can be driven by science that has yet to be accepted fully by the scientific, political and managerial communities. Amid such uncertainty, sustainable development innovation is often difficult and risky. Nevertheless, faced with increasing pressure to consider sustainable development, many organizations have revised their business models, and these changes are often highlighted... To read the complete article, login or sign-up using the form below.
Become a premium subscriber today to read this and all MIT Sloan Managmeent Review articles.
Buy this article. Purchase one or more copies of this article in PDF form.
Become a premium subscriber today to read this article and the entire archive of MIT SMR articles.
Upgrade your existing subscription to premium
Sign in if you are a premium subscriber.
Do you subscribe the MIT Sloan Management Review in print? Enter the email address and password you used when ordering. Don't remember? Lookup your subscription account information
- Register for free access to recent articles and the current issue of MIT Sloan Management Review.
- Subscribe and read articles from the past three years online.
- Premium subscription give you access to the entire archive of articles.
