Exploring SOI as a dynamic innovation process : A multiple case study of pilot projects in a Norwegian cooperative

Abstract

Previous research on sustainability and innovation has received increased attention from researchers over the past years. However, the literature on sustainableoriented innovation (SOI) still is at an early stage and lacks in-depth research on how it can be embedded in organizations as a dynamic process. Moreover, previous literature has mainly regarded sustainability in a dichotomous way, with projects being either sustainable or not rather than understanding SOI as a dynamic, unfolding process that is realized over time. This thesis aims to contribute to this gap by conducting a comparative study on four pilot projects in a Norwegian cooperative in the food retail industry where we investigate SOI processes and whether it makes a difference if sustainability is the project's main driver or if it subsequently becomes an important element. We examined four distinct pilot projects, where two were mainly driven by sustainability, and the two others had other drivers. We found several challenges related to incorporating sustainability later in the process, including issues with resources of competence when this was not included at the beginning of the project. Moreover, our findings indicate that large corporations must consider the triple bottom line holistically to succeed with SOI. Large firms are facing pressure from various stakeholders to take responsibility for business activities' environmental and social impacts. Even more so, cooperatives have strong community ties, thus, researchers argue that cooperatives have more substantial incentives to engage in sustainable development. Our findings indicate that even though they desire to contribute to sustainable development, it is challenging due to the complexity of the organizational structure. Key words: triple bottom line, sustainable-oriented innovation, innovation process, cooperative