6. Conclusions
This study contributes to the knowledge domain by offering guidelines, particularly for Chinese companies, to enhance eco-innovation performance. This can be achieved by effectively utilising their resources and investments while developing sustainability. With respect to theoretical implications, product function is identified as the driving factor of green innovation, thus confirming that product quality is the company’s key to survival and fundamental starting point for the eco-innovation. In addition, it is found from the ISM results that the ultimate goal of eco-innovation is eco-certification development, and it also requires an integral approach of green production to implement. However, possessing integral approach of green production (C1) is located in the last layer of ISM, and being located in the fourth quadrant represents a core problem: testifying integration of green production with the current method is still not an easy problem.
The results in this study are biased towards Chinese companies. In China, the external pressures which come from consumers’ green demands, environmental regulations and competitors affect eco-innovation partially through internal drivers. Internally, more and more Chinese companies realise that if they want to achieve sustainable development, they must be transformed and upgraded through eco-innovation. The Chinese context must be considered. However, there is a lack of theoretical justification for developing countries (not only China) to pursue eco-innovation. In view of the Chinese context, the theories or methods proposed in the West are not always able to solve the specific and local problems of Chinese companies. Hence, this study attempted to identify the factors influencing Chinese companies’ eco-innovation and extract a new management structure from the theoretical perspective.
