Accumulate or Diversify Ecological Innovation Assets? The Effect of Ecological Innovation Asset Depth and Breadth on Firm Financial Performance

G opengieße ‐A l , Louisa; Zacha ias, NicolasA.
A icle — Published Ve sion
Accumula e o Di e si y Ecological Inno a ion Asse s? The
E ec o Ecological Inno a ion Asse Dep h and B ead h on
Fi m Financial Pe o mance
Business S a egy and he En i onmen
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
John Wiley & Sons
Sugges ed Ci a ion: G opengieße ‐A l , Louisa; Zacha ias, NicolasA. (2025) : Accumula e o Di e si y
Ecological Inno a ion Asse s? The E ec o Ecological Inno a ion Asse Dep h and B ead h on Fi m
Financial Pe o mance, Business S a egy and he En i onmen , ISSN 1099-0836, Wiley, Hoboken,
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Business S a egy and he En i onmen , 2025; 34:4001–4029
h ps://doi.o g/10.1002/bse.4182
4001
Business S a egy and he En i onmen
RESEARCH ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS
Accumula e o Di e si y Ecological Inno a ion Asse s? The
E ec o Ecological Inno a ion Asse Dep h and B ead h on
Fi m Financial Pe o mance
LouisaG opengieße - A l | NicolasA.Zacha ias
Facul y o Economics and Business Adminis a ion, F ied ich Schille Uni e si y Jena, Jena, Ge many
Co espondence: Louisa G opengieße - A l (louisa.g opengiesse -a l @uni-jena.de)
Recei ed: 21 June 2024 | Re ised: 21 Janua y 2025 | Accep ed: 22 Janua y 2025
Keywo ds: asse b ead h| asse dep h| ecological inno a ion| i m inancial pe o mance| esou ce- based iew| echnological po olio
ABSTRACT
This s udy in es iga es he ole o inno a ion po olio s uc u es in he ela ionship o ecological inno a ion and i m inancial
pe o mance. We d aw on he esou ce- based iew and he na u al esou ce–based iew o examine he e ec s o he dep h and
b ead h o i ms' ecological inno a ion asse s (EIAs) while concep ually and empi ically accoun ing o he subs an ial di e -
ences be ween wo dis inc i m inancial pe o mance dimensions. To es ou concep ual amewo k, we ely on a panel da a
se based on 340 US i ms lis ed in he S&P 500 index o e a 10- yea pe iod. Fixed- e ec s eg essions con i m ha EIA dep h and
EIA b ead h undamen ally di e in hei e ec s on i m inancial pe o mance. Mo eo e , we ind ha he esul s a y consid-
e ably be ween accoun ing- based and alue- based inancial pe o mance. The eby, his s udy makes a signi ican con ibu ion
o he ongoing deba e abou he nexus o ecological inno a ion and i m inancial pe o mance.
1 | In oduc ion
Recen s udies show ha ecological inno a ions, he ein de-
ined as “ echnological inno a ions o applica ions o mi i-
ga ion o adap ion agains clima e change” (EPO2024), a e
one o he mos p omising ways o i ms o educe hei en i-
onmen al impac (Liang, Zhang, and Qiang2022; Wang, Li,
and Liao2021). Howe e , hey ep esen a isky in es men
o i ms because o hei speci ic and unce ain cha ac e is-
ics compa ed wi h egula inno a ions (Ba bie i, Ma zucchi,
and Rizzo 2020; DeMa chi 2012; Rennings 2000). To s ay
compe i i e in he long e m, i ms need o de elop inno a-
ions ha a e bo h ecological and p o i able. Resea ch is s ill
inconclusi e ega ding he ci cums ances in which i ms
bene i mos om ecological inno a ion (He mundsdo i
and Aspelund2021; López Pé ez, Ga cía Sánchez, and Za a
Gómez2024).
To inno a e success ully, i ms build up echnological po olios,
in which hey dis ibu e inno a ion asse s wi hin o ac oss di -
e en echnology ields (Le en, Belde bos, and an Looy2007).
Ma ke and echnology ends, as well as he inc easing com-
plexi y o p oduc s and p oduc ion p ocesses, a e o cing i ms
o expand hei co e echnological compe ence and di e si y in o
u he echnology ields (Le en, Belde bos, and an Looy2007;
Lin, Chen, and Wu2006). A he same ime, inc easing e idence
shows ha building up deep inno a ion s ocks (i.e., he accumu-
la ion o echnological inno a ion asse s wi hin a single ech-
nology ield) can enable i ms o inno a e mo e easily because a
high dep h o knowledge in a echnology ield acili a es he c e-
a ion o new combina ions o ha knowledge (P abhu, Chandy,
and Ellis2005; Zhang and Baden- Fulle 2010). Thus, manage s
mus decide s a egically abou he dis ibu ion o echnological
inno a ion asse s wi hin and ac oss echnology ields o build
an inno a ion po olio ha allows he i m o ully le e age
This is an open access a icle unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License, which pe mi s use, dis ibu ion and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is
p ope ly ci ed.
© 2025 The Au ho (s). Business S a egy and he En i onmen published by ERP En i onmen and John Wiley & Sons L d.
4002 Business S a egy and he En i onmen , 2025
i s alue and gain a compe i i e ad an age (Ba ney1991; Lin,
Chen, and Wu2006).
Ecological inno a ions a e highly complex (Ba bie i, Ma zucchi,
and Rizzo 2020) and demand speci ic esou ces (Cainelli, de
Ma chi, and G andine i2015; DeMa chi2012); hus, manage s
mus p oceed wi h pa icula cau ion when deciding on he dis-
ibu ion o ecological inno a ion asse s (EIAs) o exploi hei
ull alue. The li e a u e on pe o mance ou comes o ecolog-
ical inno a ion has widely neglec ed a de ailed analysis o he
s uc u e o i ms' EIAs wi hin hei inno a ion po olios. To
add ess his esea ch gap, we s i e o answe he ollowing e-
sea ch ques ion: How does he s uc u e o EIAs in luence i ms'
accoun ing- and alue- based inancial pe o mance? In pa icu-
la , we in es iga e he e ec s o EIA dep h and EIA b ead h on
accoun ing- based pe o mance (ABP) and alue- based pe o -
mance (VBP) ou comes.
To de elop ou esea ch amewo k, we d aw on insigh s
om he ecological inno a ion and echnological po o-
lio li e a u e s eams and me ge hose a gumen s unde he
esou ce- based iew (RBV; Ba ney 1991) and i s ex ension,
he na u al esou ce–based iew (NRBV; Ha  1995; Ha
and Dowell2011). To es ou hypo hesized ela ionships, we
ely on pa en da a om he US Pa en and T adema k O ice
(USPTO) o 340 US i ms lis ed in he S&P 500 index o e a
pe iod o 10 yea s (2009–2018), esul ing in o e 3000 i m-
yea obse a ions. In o al, ou analysis includes mo e han
54,000 ecological pa en s.
The esul s o ou s udy p o ide ele an con ibu ions o e-
sea ch and p ac ice alike. Fi s , by ans e ing insigh s om
he li e a u e on echnological po olios o he ecological inno-
a ion and i m pe o mance esea ch s eam, we shed ligh on
he ongoing deba e abou he e ec o ecological inno a ion on
i m pe o mance (He mundsdo i and Aspelund2021; López
Pé ez, Ga cía Sánchez, and Za a Gómez 2024). We expand
he exis ing body o knowledge by examining he nexus o EIA
po olio s uc u es and i m inancial pe o mance om bo h
he RBV and NRBV. Using hese heo e ical lenses, we p o ide
a mo e ine- g ained explana ion o he e ec s o di e en EIA
po olio s uc u es. Building on ex an esea ch ha p o ides
ini ial insigh s in o he e ec s o EIA b ead h (La Ley a- de Hiz,
Fe on- Vilchez, and A agon- Co ea2019), we expand he s a e o
knowledge by including u he po olio s uc u es, such as EIA
dep h and he in e play o EIA dep h and EIA b ead h. These
di e en ia ed insigh s in o he e ec s o EIA po olio s uc u es
can suppo manage s in deciding how o dis ibu e EIAs wi hin
inno a ion po olios o bes p o i om hese inno a ions.
Second, when es ing he e ec s o EIA po olio s uc u es
on ABP and VBP, we accoun o he dis inc dimensions o
i m inancial pe o mance iden i ied in ou concep ual ea-
soning, p edic ing di e en e ec s o he ou comes. This is
impo an because hey ep esen ela ed bu di e en dimen-
sions o i m pe o mance (Gen y and Shen2010; Hoskisson,
Johnson, and Moesel1994; Kea s1988): VBP e lec s a long-
e m, u u e- and ma ke - o ien ed measu e in which in es-
o s' pe cep ions a e conside ed, whe eas ABP e lec s a mo e
sho - e m, pas - and ope a ion- o ien ed measu e (Gen y and
Shen2010; Kea s1988). In he con ex o esea ch on co po-
a e sus ainabili y, G ewa sch and Kleindiens (2017) no e ha
s udies on ecological inno a ion and i m pe o mance ha e
mos ly used ei he only one dimension o i m pe o mance o
bo h wi hou su icien ly ecognizing he di e ences, leading
o inconclusi e esul s. We add ess his sho coming, and ou
esul s show essen ial di e ences in he empi ical e ec s o
ABP and VBP. By unco e ing he e ec s o EIA po olio s uc-
u es on dis inc dimensions o i m inancial pe o mance,
ou s udy can help manage s make mo e e ec i e decisions
ega ding EIAs based on he expec ed e ec s on di e en i-
nancial ou comes.
Thi d, ou s udy con ibu es o esea ch on echnological po o-
lio s uc u es by speci ically es ing he e ec s o he ecological
pa o i ms' inno a ion asse s. P e ious s udies in he ield o
echnological po olios ypically conside a i m's en i e pa en
po olio, no accoun ing o he peculia i ies o ecological in-
no a ions (Chen, Yang, and Lin2013; Kim, Lee, and Cho2016).
In con as , paying a en ion o he speci ic na u e o ecological
inno a ions as pa o i ms' en i e inno a ion po olios could
help explain he a ie y o ou comes in ex an esea ch in es i-
ga ing he e ec o po olio s uc u es.
The es o he pape is s uc u ed as ollows. Sec ion2 in o-
duces he concep ual backg ound o ou s udy. In Sec ion3, we
desc ibe ou esea ch amewo k and de elop he hypo heses.
Sec ion4 desc ibes he me hodology o he s udy, ollowed by
Sec ion5, which p esen s he esul s o ou analysis. In he las
sec ion, we conclude by de eloping heo e ical and p ac ical
implica ions.
2 | Concep ual Backg ound
2.1 | Li e a u e Re iew on Ecological Inno a ion
and Fi m Financial Pe o mance
E e since Po e and an de Linde's (1995) seminal a icle,
in which hey highligh ecological inno a ions' po en ial o
compe i i eness, esea che s ha e been in e es ed in d i e s
and inancial ou comes o ecological inno a ion. Ecological
inno a ion undamen ally di e s om egula inno a ion in
i s po en ial o educe en i onmen al impac (OECD 2009).
The e m can e e o “new o modi ied p ocesses, echniques,
p ac ices, sys ems and p oduc s” (Beise and Rennings2003, 8),
and hese inno a ions can ange om “end- o - pipe” echnolo-
gies, which aim a con olling and minimizing pollu an s a he
end o he p oduc ion p ocess (Be one and Gomez- Mejia2009;
Rennings 2000; Xie e  al. 2016), o p e en i e echnologies,
which ocus on minimizing and elimina ing he gene a ion o
pollu ion and was e h oughou he p oduc ion p ocess (Be one
and Gomez- Mejia 2009; Xie e  al. 2016). Nume ous s udies
ha e e ol ed ha examine c i ical d i e s o ecological inno-
a ion, such as o ganiza ional inno a ion (Ba aineh, Sánchez-
Selle o, and Ayad2024a) o g een dynamic capabili ies (Singh
e al.2022). Based on di e en concep ualiza ions o ecological
inno a ion, ano he esea ch s eam ocuses on i s inancial
pe o mance ou comes. Table1 p esen s an o e iew o ele an
s udies in his esea ch s eam.
4003
TABLE 1 | Li e a u e e iew able wi h ele an s udies on ecological inno a ion and inancial pe o mance.
S udy Independen a iables Dependen a iables
Concep ual
di e en ia ion
be ween ABP and VBP Theo y Sample
Exempla y s udies es ing he gene al e ec o eco- inno a ion
Aguile a- Ca acuel
and O iz- de-
Mandojana(2013)
G een inno a ion in ensi y ROA —Ins i u ional
heo y
70 g een inno a i e
s. 70 non- g een
inno a i e i ms
C oss- sec ional
Li(2014)En i onmen al inno a ion p ac ices Financial pe o mance cons uc —Ins i u ional
heo y/RBV
148 Chinese
manu ac u ing i ms
C oss- sec ional
Be múdez- Edo,
Hu ado- To es,
and O iz- de-
Mandojana(2017)
Pa en ed en i onmen al inno a ions Tobin's Q —NRBV 35 ICT FT 500 i ms
2005–2009
116 obse a ions
Cai and Li(2018)Eco- inno a ion Economic pe o mance cons uc — — 442 Chinese i ms
C oss- sec ional
Leal- Rod íguez
e al.(2018)
G een inno a ion pe o mance O ganiza ional
pe o mance cons uc
— — 145 Spanish
manu ac u ing i ms
C oss- sec ional
Ga cía- Sánchez,
Gallego- Ál a ez,
and Za a- Gómez
(2020)
Eco- inno a ion ROA
ROE
Tobin's Q
Yes — 6454 in e na ional i ms
2002–2017
95,489 obse a ions
Rezende
e al.(2019)
G een inno a ion in ensi y ROA — — 356 i ms
2006–2016
2492 obse a ions
Zhang, Rong, and
Ji(2019)
G een inno a ion Sales g ow h
Ne p o i
— — 764 i ms
2000–2010
5727 obse a ions
P zychodzen, La
Ley a- de Hiz, and
P zychodzen(2020)
G een inno a ion
O e concen a ion o g een inno a ion
ROA, OM, ROEC, MV/MV No —500 companies
1999–2016
9009 obse a ions
(Con inues)
4004 Business S a egy and he En i onmen , 2025
S udy Independen a iables Dependen a iables
Concep ual
di e en ia ion
be ween ABP and VBP Theo y Sample
Ma ín- Vinuesa
e al.(2020)
Eco- inno a ion ROE —RBV 87 Spanish i ms
om indus ial,
anspo , logis ics,
and was e indus y
C oss- sec ional
Fa za e al.(2021)En i onmen al inno a ion Ma ke - o- book a io
ROA
ROIC
No Theo y o slack
esou ces,
NRBV
110 Ge man HDAX i ms
2008–2019
Singh e al. (2022)G een inno a ion Fi m pe o mance cons uc —S akeholde
heo y, RBV
248 SME i ms om
manu ac u ing sec o
in Abu Dhabi
Suki e al.(2022)G een inno a ion Business sus ainabili y cons uc —NRBV 243 manu ac u ing
i ms in Malaysia
C oss- sec ional
Tian e al.(2023)G een inno a ion Tobin's Q —NRBV 351 Chinese i ms
2007–2018
2734 obse a ions
Exempla y s udies di e en ia ing be ween eco- inno a ion ypes
Chen, Lai, and
Wen(2006)
Pe o mance o g een p oduc inno a ion
Pe o mance o g een p ocess inno a ion
Co po a e compe i i e ad an age — — 203 i ms om he
in o ma ion and
elec onics indus y
in Taiwan
C oss- sec ional
Chang (2011)G een p oduc inno a ion
G een p ocess inno a ion
Compe i i e ad an age —Ins i u ional
heo y,
s akeholde
heo y, RBV
106 manu ac u ing
i ms in Taiwan
C oss- sec ional
Amo es- Sal adó,
Ma ín- de
Cas o, and
Na as- López(2014)
En i onmen al p oduc inno a ion ROA g ow h
ROS g ow h
ROCE g ow h
—RBT/NRBV 157 i ms
C oss- sec ional
(Con inues)
TABLE 1 | (Con inued)

4005
S udy Independen a iables Dependen a iables
Concep ual
di e en ia ion
be ween ABP and VBP Theo y Sample
Ghise i and
Rennings(2014)
Ene gy and esou ce
e iciency inno a ion
Ex e nali y educing inno a ion
ROS —Po e
hypo hesis
1063 Ge man i ms
C oss- sec ional
Rexhäuse and
Ramme (2014)
Regula ion- induced s. olun a y
en i onmen al inno a ions
E iciency imp o ing s. o he
en i onmen al inno a ions
ROS —Po e
hypo hesis
3618 Ge man i ms
C oss- sec ional
P zychodzen and
P zychodzen(2015)
P oduc eco- inno a ion
P ocess eco- inno a ion
Ma ke eco- inno a ion
Sou ces o supply eco- inno a ion
ROA
ROE
ERR
— — 439 i ms
2006–2013
632 s. 2648 obse a ions
(eco s. con en ional)
Chan e al. (2016)G een p oduc inno a ion Cos e iciency
Fi m p o i abili y
—Con ingency
heo y
250 i ms
C oss- sec ional
Hojnik and
Ruzzie (2016)
P ocess eco- inno a ion Company g ow h
Company p o i abili y
—Po e
hypo hesis,
ins i u ional
heo y
223 Slo enian i ms
C oss- sec ional
Xie e al.(2016) G een p ocess inno a ion (clean
echnologies, end- o - pipe echnologies)
ROA —RBT/NRBV Chinese manu ac u ing
i ms
2001–2010
196 obse a ions
Huang and
Li(2017)
G een p oduc inno a ion
G een p ocess inno a ion
O ganiza ional
pe o mance cons uc
—Dynamic
capabili y
pe spec i e/
SNT/ecological
mode niza ion
heo y
418 i ms om ICT
indus y in Taiwan
C oss- sec ional
Hojnik,
Ruzzie , and
Manolo a(2018)
P oduc eco- inno a ion
P ocess eco- inno a ion
O ganiza ional eco- inno a ion
Fi m pe o mance cons uc — Lea ning
heo y
151 Slo enian i ms
C oss- sec ional
Tang e al. (2018)G een p oduc inno a ion
G een p ocess inno a ion
Fi m pe o mance cons uc —Po e
hypo hesis
188 Chinese
manu ac u ing i ms
C oss- sec ional
(Con inues)
TABLE 1 | (Con inued)
4006 Business S a egy and he En i onmen , 2025
S udy Independen a iables Dependen a iables
Concep ual
di e en ia ion
be ween ABP and VBP Theo y Sample
Tumele o, Sb agia,
and E ans(2019)
P oduc eco- inno a ion
P ocess eco- inno a ion
O ganiza ional eco- inno a ion
Socioeconomic
pe o mance cons uc
— — 221 elec ical and
elec onic manu ac u e s
in B azil
C oss- sec ional
Xie, Huo, and
Zou(2019)
G een p oduc inno a ion
G een p ocess inno a ion
ROA —RBV 209 i ms
C oss- sec ional
Wang e al.(2021)G een p oduc inno a ion
G een p ocess inno a ion
Economic pe o mance cons uc — — 642 indus ial
Chinese i ms
C oss- sec ional
Iqbal e al.(2022)En i onmen al p ocess inno a ion
En i onmen al p oduc inno a ion
Ma ke - o- book a io
Tobin's Q
—RBV US lis ed i ms
2002–2019
8511 obse a ions
Rahman(2023)G een p oduc inno a ion ROE —Ins umen al
s akeholde
heo y/ esou ce
depa men
heo y
US i ms
2000–2019
366 obse a ions
Ba aineh, Sánchez-
Selle o, and
Ayad(2024b)
Reduc ion o ene gy/ma e ial
Imp o emen in HSE
Compliance wi h egula ions
Compe i i e ad an age —RBV Spanish i ms
2003–2016
21,140 obse a ions
S udies conside ing he echnological dis ibu ion o ecological inno a ion
La Ley a- de Hiz,
Fe on- Vilchez,
and A agon-
Co ea(2019)
Focused ecological inno a ion Tobin's Q —Agency heo y 75 US companies
2006–2009
216 obse a ions
This s udy Ecological inno a ion dep h
Ecological inno a ion b ead h
Ma ke alue
Ne income
Yes RBV/NRBV 340 US companies
2009–2018
3400 obse a ions
TABLE 1 | (Con inued)
4007
The i s g oup o s udies does no explici ly dis inguish be-
ween di e en ypes o ecological inno a ions. Wi hin his
ield, a ious s udies examine he pe o mance implica-
ions o ABP. Fo example, Aguile a- Ca acuel and O iz-
de- Mandojana (2013) ind ha i ms in oducing ecological
inno a ion do no expe ience g ea e pe o mance han o he
i ms. Ma ín- Vinuesa e al.'s(2020) esul s suppo hese ind-
ings, showing ha owning g een pa en s does no enhance
i m pe o mance. Howe e , bo h s udies indica e ha he
le el o ecological inno a ion is posi i ely associa ed wi h pe -
o mance. O he s udies ind ha his ela ionship is depen-
den on s a e owne ship (Zhang, Rong, and Ji2019) o ime lags
(Rezende e al.2019). In e ms o VBP, Tian e al.(2023) show
a posi i e e ec on Tobin's Q, while Be múdez- Edo, Hu ado-
To es, and O iz- de- Mandojana (2017) ind ha ecological
inno a ion only enhances pe o mance when he inno a ions'
in e na ional scope o he knowledge sou cing is high. Some
s udies simul aneously conside ABP and VBP: While Fa za
e  al. (2021) ind a posi i e e ec o ecological inno a ion
o bo h pe o mance ypes, P zychodzen, La Ley a- de Hiz,
and P zychodzen (2020) show ha an o e - concen a ion on
ecological inno a ion ha ms ABP and VBP. Howe e , ac ing
as a i s mo e in ecological inno a ion can inc ease VBP
(P zychodzen, La Ley a- de Hiz, and P zychodzen 2020).
In con as o he a o emen ioned s udies, Ga cía- Sánchez,
Gallego- Ál a ez, and Za a- Gómez (2020) conside he con-
cep ual di e en ia ion be ween ABP and VBP and assume
di e en e ec s o bo h inno a ion ypes. As expec ed, eco-
logical inno a ion ha ms i m p o i abili y bu enhances i s
ma ke alue (Ga cía- Sánchez, Gallego- Ál a ez, and Za a-
Gómez 2020). Fu he s udies in his ield ely on a ying
pe o mance cons uc s, showing mixed esul s (e.g., Cai and
Li2018; Leal- Rod íguez e al.2018; Li2014; Suki e al.2022).
A second g oup o s udies dis inguishes ecological inno a-
ion ypes. A majo i y o esea ch in his ield di e en ia es
be ween ecological p oduc and/o p ocess inno a ion (e.g.,
Amo es- Sal adó, Ma ín- de Cas o, and Na as- López 2014;
Chen, Lai, and Wen2006; Huang and Li2017; Iqbal e al.2022;
Lin, Tan, and Geng2013). O he s udies include u he ypes,
such as o ganiza ional eco- inno a ion (Hojnik, Ruzzie , and
Manolo a 2018; Tumele o, Sb agia, and E ans2019) o ma -
ke and sou ces o supply eco- inno a ion (P zychodzen and
P zychodzen 2015). Mos o hese s udies indica e a posi i e
in luence o ecological inno a ion ypes on ABP (P zychodzen
and P zychodzen2015; Rahman2023; Xie, Huo, and Zou2019),
VBP (Iqbal e al.2022), and pe o mance cons uc s (Hojnik
and Ruzzie 2016; Huang and Li2017), al hough some canno
suppo di ec signi ican e ec s o ecological p oduc inno-
a ion (e.g., Amo es- Sal adó, Ma ín- de Cas o, and Na as-
López2014; Wang e al.2021). Fu he dis inc ions wi hin his
g oup o s udies a e made wi h ega d o ene gy and esou ce
e iciency e sus ex e nali y- educing inno a ions (Ghise i
and Rennings2014), egula ion- induced e sus olun a y en i-
onmen al inno a ions, and e iciency- imp o ing e sus o he
inno a ions (Rexhäuse and Ramme 2014), educ ion- ela ed
e sus imp o emen - ela ed and compliance- ela ed inno a-
ions (Ba aineh, Sánchez- Selle o, and Ayad 2024b), o clean
e sus end- o - pipe echnologies (Xie e al.2016). These s udies
ind mixed esul s o he di e en inno a ion ypes on ABP
and i ms' compe i i e ad an age.
Unlike he a o emen ioned g oups o s udies, La Ley a- de Hiz,
Fe on- Vilchez, and A agon- Co ea (2019) ocus on he ech-
nological dis ibu ion o EIAs wi hin i ms' ecological inno a-
ion po olios. Building on agency heo y, he au ho s examine
he in luence o slack esou ces on he ela ionship be ween
ocused ecological inno a ion and VBP. As we a e also in e -
es ed in he echnological dis ibu ion o EIAs, ou s udy is mos
closely ela ed o La Ley a- de Hiz, Fe on- Vilchez, and A agon-
Co ea(2019). Howe e , we ely on an RBV and examine he
i ms' ecological inno a ion po olio, conside ing he dep h and
he b ead h o hei EIAs. Mo eo e , o gain a comp ehensi e
unde s anding o he e ec s o ecological inno a ion, we include
VBP as well as ABP.
2.2 | The RBV and he NRBV
The RBV and he NRBV p o ide he heo e ical ounda ion o
u he examine he ole o EIAs and hei dis ibu ion wi hin
inno a ion po olios o i ms' compe i i e ad an age. F om an
RBV, i ms' he e ogeneous esou ces can explain pe o mance
ou comes in e ms o hei alue, a i y, inimi abili y, and non-
subs i u abili y (Ba ney 1991). Resea che s ha e a gued ha
inno a ion asse s o en mee he equi ed c i e ia and he e-
o e deno e impo an esou ces o i m pe o mance (Fang,
Palma ie , and G ewal2011).
The NRBV ex ends his pe spec i e o include he na u al en-
i onmen and a gues ha i ms can only sus ain hei com-
pe i i e ad an age i hey de elop esou ces and capabili ies
ha inco po a e he challenges o he na u al en i onmen
(Ha 1995). Due o hei aci na u e, social complexi y, and
a eness, such esou ces and capabili ies a e cos ly o o he
i ms o copy. Simul aneously, i ms can p o i om posi i e
e ec s o a good epu a ion h ough he esou ces' ex e nal
o ien a ion, which engende s social legi imacy (Ha  1995).
Re e ing o esea ch on ins i u ional heo y (e.g., DiMaggio
and Powell1983), Ha (1995) a gues ha i ms can only c ea e
compe i i e ad an age when also achie ing social legi imacy.
In conside a ion o he g owing en i onmen al bu dens i ms
ace cu en ly, he NRBV (Ha 1995; Ha and Dowell2011)
has gained signi ican impo ance (Ha and Dowell 2011)
and has widely been implemen ed as a heo e ical ounda ion
in esea ch on ecological inno a ion (Lee and Min2015; Suki
e al.2022; Tian e al.2023). Building on hese ounda ions,
we classi y ecological inno a ions as c i ical i m asse s o
c ea ing and sus aining compe i i e ad an age. Hence, in he
emainde o his pape , we conside ecological inno a ions o
be EIAs.
2.3 | Technological Po olios
P e ious esea ch has highligh ed inno a ion pe o mance o
be a cen al d i e o long- e m success (e.g., Sánchez- Selle o
e al.2015). In line wi h he RBV, schola s ha e aken a po olio
pe spec i e o in es iga e how i ms should dis ibu e hei in-
no a ion asse s o bes p o i om hei inno a ion s ock. In ha
ein, P ahalad and Hamel (1990) ex end he RBV by empha-
sizing he s a egic impo ance o i ms' co e compe encies o
gaining supe io i m pe o mance. Co e compe encies eme ge
4008 Business S a egy and he En i onmen , 2025
h ough he ha moniza ion o echnology s eams, which e-
qui es a deep knowledge s ock in he co esponding echnol-
ogy ields (Bie ly and Chak aba i1996; P abhu, Chandy, and
Ellis2005). By accumula ing inno a ion asse s, i ms can build
up such a deep knowledge s ock and he eby p o i om speci ic
compe encies in hei co e echnological a eas.
In con as o his heo y o i ms' co e compe encies, esea ch-
e s ha e long ocused on he ole o echnological di e si ica ion
(Ceipek e al.2019). Pa el and Pa i (1997) ind ha la ge i ms
a e cha ac e ized by b oad echnological compe encies ou side
hei ‘co e’ ields and ha echnological di e si ica ion usually
exceeds hei p oduc di e si ica ion. The abili y o d aw on a
b oad knowledge base allows i ms o be mo e adap able and
o combine di e en echnologies o new, mo e complex p od-
uc s and p oduc ion sys ems (Bie ly and Chak aba i1996; Pa el
and Pa i 1997). G an s and, Pa el, and Pa ill(1997) highligh
he impo ance o echnological di e si ica ion, a guing ha
ins ead o ocusing on a limi ed amoun o co e echnological
compe encies, la ge i ms should build up a b oade se o hese
compe encies, e en i ha means ha he exis ing compe ency
s ock becomes less deep. By sp eading hei inno a ion asse s
ac oss mul iple echnology ields, i ms can build up he equi ed
knowledge s ock o de elop such a b oad se o echnological
compe encies.
Howe e , when di e si ying echnological po olios, i ms
mus be ca e ul no o lose hei ocus on de eloping s ong
compe encies wi hin speci ic echnological ields (Le en,
Belde bos, and an Looy2007). Mo eo e , di e si ied po olios
a e o en accompanied by high cos s, such as coo dina ion o
communica ion cos s (Le en, Belde bos, and an Looy2007).
In summa y, he ounda ions discussed he ein suppo he no-
ion ha i ms should conside bo h he dep h (accumula ion
o inno a ion asse s wi hin echnology ields) and b ead h (di-
e si ica ion o inno a ion asse s ac oss echnology ields) o
hei echnological po olio when de eloping hei po olio
s uc u e.
3 | Resea ch F amewo k and Hypo heses
3.1 | Resea ch F amewo k
Building on he p e ious discussion, we assume ha EIAs sig-
ni ican ly in luence i ms' inancial pe o mance. In line wi h
he NRBV, EIAs can p o ide i ms wi h a compe i i e ad an age
because o hei aci na u e, social complexi y, and a eness
(Ba ney1991; Ha 1995; Ha and Dowell2011). Howe e , he
g ea e no el y and complexi y o ecological inno a ion com-
pa ed wi h egula inno a ion make i mo e di icul o i ms
o build up a subs an ial EIA s ock. Mo eo e , high de elopmen
cos s mean i ms mus conside ha i usually akes some ime
be o e EIAs pay o (He mundsdo i and Aspelund2021).
Consequen ly, i is impo an o i ms o ca e ully e alua e
how o s a egically build up such c i ical asse s. The e o e,
we examine wo speci ic cha ac e is ics o EIA po olio s uc-
u es by d awing on knowledge om esea ch on echnological
po olios: In line wi h he heo y o i ms' co e compe encies
(P ahalad and Hamel1990) and esea ch on echnological di-
e si ica ion (e.g., G an s and, Pa el, and Pa ill1997), we as-
sume dis inc e ec s o EIA dep h (accumula ion o EIAs in he
co esponding echnology ields o he i m) and EIA b ead h
(di e si ica ion o EIAs h oughou a ious echnology ields) on
i m inancial pe o mance. To shed ligh on he e ec s o EIA
dep h and EIA b ead h and o allow o a compa ison o esul s,
we ely on wo pe o mance ou comes: ABP and VBP. Figu e1
summa izes ou esea ch amewo k.
3.2 | Hypo heses
The NRBV con ends ha i ms mus conside he na u al en-
i onmen when de eloping s a egic esou ces (Ha 1995). As
ecological inno a ions a e cha ac e ized by a eness, aci ness,
and social complexi y, which make hem di icul o copy, hey
se e as p omising esou ces o p o ide i ms wi h a compe i i e
FIGURE 1 | Resea ch amewo k.
4015
TABLE 3 | Desc ip i e s a is ics and co ela ions.
Mean SD VIF 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
ABP 1886.28 4353.09 N/A 1.00
VBP 38,427.23 74,584.30 N/A 0.82 1.00
P io inancial
pe o mance
3924.10 7299.79 1.73 0.85 0.81 1.00
Fi m size (log) 3.04 1.38 1.58 0.38 0.40 0.47 1.00
R&D in ensi y 0.06 0.25 1.07 −0.02 0.00 −0.04 −0.19 1.00
Le e age 0.25 0.23 1.02 −0.05 −0.05 −0.03 0.03 −0.01 1.00
Capi al in ensi y 0.08 0.11 1.23 −0.05 −0.01 0.04 −0.21 −0.02 0.07 1.00
Compe i i e
in ensi y
0.02 0.00 1.21 0.12 0.15 0.15 −0.07 0.01 0.00 0.15 1.00
Ma ke u bulence 1.58 2.27 1.13 −0.01 0.02 −0.02 −0.11 0.08 −0.02 −0.07 0.27 1.00
Regula inno a ion
asse s
663.37 2195.36 2.16 0.44 0.49 0.46 0.29 0.04 −0.06 −0.05 −0.02 −0.03 1.00
Regula inno a ion
scope
47.38 66.68 5.72 0.39 0.45 0.45 0.41 0.01 −0.06 −0.17 −0.09 0.01 0.63 1.00
EIA o al 59.23 246.97 3.22 0.30 0.32 0.40 0.28 0.02 −0.03 −0.03 −0.11 −0.08 0.59 0.65 1.00
EIA ela i e 0.06 0.15 1.43 0.02 0.01 0.07 0.00 −0.02 0.02 0.23 −0.10 −0.06 0.01 0.07 0.19 1.00
EIA dep h 1.17 2.26 2.96 0.35 0.34 0.39 0.18 0.10 −0.08 −0.04 −0.08 −0.02 0.60 0.59 0.75 0.29 1.00
EIA b ead h 1.13 1.21 3.73 0.31 0.36 0.36 0.28 0.05 −0.09 −0.13 −0.09 0.06 0.39 0.79 0.39 0.27 0.48 1.00

4016 Business S a egy and he En i onmen , 2025
TABLE 4 | E ec s o EIA on accoun ing- and alue- based pe o mance.
Dependen a iable: ABP ( + 1) Dependen a iable: VBP ( + 1)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
Con ol a iables
P io inancial
pe o mance
0.769*** (0.079) 0.760*** (0.078) 0.760*** (0.078) 0.747*** (0.078) 0.487*** (0.077) 0.482*** (0.077) 0.481*** (0.077) 0.468*** (0.076)
Fi m size (log) −0.022 (0.045) −0.019 (0.044) −0.025 (0.044) −0.033 (0.044) 0.116* (0.048) 0.123** (0.047) 0.128** (0.048) 0.120* (0.048)
R&D in ensi y 0.001 (0.002) 0.001 (0.002) 0.002 (0.002) 0.002 (0.002) −0.001 (0.002) −0.002 (0.002) −0.002 (0.002) −0.003 (0.002)
Le e age 0.014 (0.015) 0.013 (0.015) 0.014 (0.015) 0.013 (0.015) 0.034** (0.013) 0.034** (0.013) 0.033** (0.013) 0.032** (0.013)
Capi al
in ensi y
−0.078* (0.033) −0.079* (0.032) −0.079* (0.032) −0.079* (0.032) 0.040** (0.014) 0.038** (0.014) 0.038** (0.014) 0.038** (0.014)
Compe i i e
in ensi y
−0.018 (0.027) −0.018 (0.027) −0.024 (0.028) −0.027 (0.028) −0.008 (0.023) −0.008 (0.024) −0.004 (0.024) −0.007 (0.023)
Ma ke
u bulence
0.015 (0.014) 0.013 (0.014) 0.013 (0.014) 0.015 (0.014) 0.005 (0.012) 0.004 (0.012) 0.004 (0.012) 0.007 (0.012)
Regula
inno a ion
asse s
0.086 (0.087) 0.080 (0.085) 0.097 (0.086) 0.067 (0.083) 0.311 (0.162) 0.306 (0.161) 0.295 (0.160) 0.264 (0.161)
Regula
inno a ion
scope
−0.062 (0.085) −0.022 (0.087) 0.053 (0.089) 0.052 (0.088) 0.619*** (0.144) 0.663*** (0.146) 0.613*** (0.137) 0.612*** (0.136)
EIA o al −0.112 (0.069) −0.164* (0.071) −0.162* (0.071) −0.292*** (0.089) −0.076 (0.059) −0.098 (0.060) −0.100 (0.060) −0.232*** (0.059)
EIA ela i e 0.006 (0.009) −0.003 (0.010) −0.004 (0.010) 0.002 (0.010) 0.006 (0.004) 0.009 (0.006) 0.010 (0.006) 0.016* (0.006)
Independen a iables
EIA dep h 0.102** (0.033) 0.080* (0.032) 0.095** (0.035) 0.034 (0.033) 0.049 (0.032) 0.064 (0.033)
EIA b ead h −0.039 (0.023) 0.126* (0.053) 0.185*** (0.055) −0.059*** (0.017) −0.171*** (0.051) −0.112* (0.051)
EIA b ead h2−0.218** (0.073) −0.232** (0.072) 0.147* (0.065) 0.133* (0.065)
In e ac ion e ec
EIA
dep h × EIA
b ead h
0.150** (0.051) 0.151*** (0.043)
Wald- χ21238.95 1258.34 1275.37 1296.94 1704.80 1718.56 1731.54 1769.45
(Con inues)
4017
suppo ou main indings (see Table8). Fo VBP, all e ec s
a e suppo ed, and we see an addi ional posi i e e ec o EIA
dep h. Fo ABP, he main e ec o EIA dep h is suppo ed as
well as i s in e ac ion e ec wi h EIA b ead h. While win-
so izing he da a educes he in luence o ex eme ou lie s, i
can dis o he dis ibu ion and po en ially exclude ele an
in o ma ion, which is why we ely on he ull ange o da a in
ou main analysis.
Fi h, one issue ha could diminish he alidi y o ou esul s
is ha o common me hod bias s emming om he use o he
same da a o independen and dependen a iables. Al hough
we elied exclusi ely on seconda y da a, he ac ha we ex-
ac ed he da a om independen da a sou ces educes he
possibili y o common me hod bias (Podsako e al.2003).
Besides including u he a iables and lagging ou dependen
a iables o accoun o he possibili y o e e se causali y
and omi ed a iables, we elied on a wo- s age leas squa es
(2SLS) ins umen al a iable (IV) app oach o u he add ess
he issue o po en ial endogenei y. Following ex an esea ch,
we used he indus y mean o ou a iables o in e es (i.e.,
EIA dep h and EIA b ead h) as p ima y ins umen s (Do zel
and Shanka 2019; Iqbal e al.2022; Kim, Lee, and Cho2016)
because, while i is likely ha i ms' EIA po olio s uc u e
could be in luenced by ha o hei compe i o s, he compe i-
o s' EIA po olios a e unlikely o ha e a di ec impac on he
ocal i ms' pe o mance ou comes. The esul s o he 2SLS IV
eg ession a e consis en wi h ou esul s in he main analy-
sis, sugges ing ha he es ima es a e no biased (see Table9).
Al oge he , conside ing he concep ual de elopmen o he
s udy and ou me hodological implemen a ion, we conclude
ha he po en ial o biases oo ed in endogenei y is a he low
in ou s udy.
6 | Discussion
To espond o g owing s akeholde p essu e ega ding i ms'
en i onmen al impac and o emain compe i i e in an en i-
onmen inc easingly cha ac e ized by esou ce sca ci y, i ms
can ely on ecological inno a ions o educe hei en i onmen al
impac . This s udy in es iga es he ole o i ms' EIA po olio
s uc u es o he inancial pe o mance ou come o ecological
inno a ion.
6.1 | Theo e ical Implica ions
Ex an esea ch shows a ying esul s ega ding he pe o -
mance ou comes o ecological inno a ion: Whe eas se e al
s udies demons a e a posi i e ela ionship (e.g., Aguile a-
Ca acuel and O iz- de- Mandojana 2013; Fa za e  al. 2021),
o he s ind a nega i e ela ionship (e.g., Be múdez- Edo,
Hu ado- To es, and O iz- de- Mandojana2017) o no e ec s
(e.g., Cai and Li2018). Va ious s udies ha e made a emp s
o unco e he ci cums ances in which i ms can bene i
om hei ecological inno a ions (Ga cía- Sánchez, Gallego-
Ál a ez, and Za a- Gómez 2020; La Ley a- de Hiz, Fe on-
Vilchez, and A agon- Co ea 2019). Ou esea ch builds on
hese a emp s, del ing mo e deeply in o he managemen
o EIAs by aking he pe spec i e o co e compe encies
Dependen a iable: ABP ( + 1) Dependen a iable: VBP ( + 1)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
Obse a ions 3400 3400 3400 3400 3400 3400 3400 3400
R20.290 0.293 0.296 0.299 0.359 0.361 0.363 0.368
Adjus ed R20.206 0.209 0.212 0.216 0.284 0.285 0.287 0.293
F s a is ic 112.632*** 96.796*** 91.098*** 86.463*** 154.982*** 132.197*** 123.681*** 117.964***
No e: This able epo s s anda dized coe icien s; obus s anda d e o s a e in pa en heses.
*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.
TABLE 4 | (Con inued)
4018 Business S a egy and he En i onmen , 2025
(P ahalad and Hamel1990) and echnological di e si ica ion
(G an s and, Pa el, and Pa ill1997). In doing so, we disen-
angle EIA in o EIA dep h and EIA b ead h o examine how
di e en po olio s uc u es o EIAs in luence i ms' inan-
cial pe o mance. We ind di e en e ec s o EIA dep h and
b ead h, which indica es ha he e ec o ecological inno a-
ion on inancial pe o mance depends on how i ms s uc u e
hei EIA po olio. These esul s highligh he impo ance
o conside ing he managemen and e icien deploymen o
esou ces when conside ing adding ecological inno a ion o
a i m's po olio, which is in line wi h esou ce- based pe -
spec i es (Ami and Schoemake  1993; Ba ney 1991; Fang,
Palma ie , and G ewal2011; Ha and Dowell2011). In con-
as o s udies conside ing EIAs in agg ega ed e ms (e.g.,
Cai and Li 2018; Iqbal e al.2022; Xie e al. 2016), we dis-
agg ega e EIAs in o dep h and b ead h, which o e s a mo e
de ailed pic u e o when EIAs p o ide a compe i i e ad an-
age (Ba ney 1991). This app oach enables a be e unde -
s anding o he e ec i e dis ibu ion o EIAs, emphasizing
he s a egic impo ance o echnological po olios in max-
imizing EIAs' alue. The e o e, esea ch on ecological inno-
a ion and i m pe o mance can bene i om inco po a ing
insigh s om he b oade inno a ion li e a u e, such as co e
compe encies (P ahalad and Hamel1990) and echnological
di e si y (G an s and, Pa el, and Pa ill1997).
Building on ou indings, ou s udy also poin s o he po en-
ial p esence o nonlinea e ec s in he con ex o ecological
inno a ions' pe o mance ou comes. Ex an s udies ha e ne-
glec ed nonlinea e ec s, which has some imes led hem o
unde es ima e he complex and mul i ace ed na u e o eco-
logical inno a ion. Especially in he con ex o inno a ion
TABLE 5 | E ec s o nonlinea EIA dep h on accoun ing- and alue- based pe o mance.
Dependen a iable: ABP ( + 1) Dependen a iable: VBP ( + 1)
(1) (2) (3) (4)
Con ol a iables
P io inancial pe o mance 0.747*** (0.078) 0.747*** (0.078) 0.468*** (0.076) 0.467*** (0.076)
Fi m size (log) −0.033 (0.044) −0.033 (0.044) 0.120* (0.048) 0.117* (0.048)
R&D in ensi y 0.002 (0.002) 0.002 (0.002) −0.003 (0.002) −0.002 (0.002)
Le e age 0.013 (0.015) 0.013 (0.015) 0.032** (0.013) 0.033** (0.013)
Capi al in ensi y −0.079* (0.032) −0.079* (0.032) 0.038** (0.014) 0.038** (0.014)
Compe i i e in ensi y −0.027 (0.028) −0.027 (0.027) −0.007 (0.023) −0.005 (0.023)
Ma ke u bulence 0.015 (0.014) 0.015 (0.014) 0.007 (0.012) 0.006 (0.012)
Regula inno a ion asse s 0.067 (0.083) 0.067 (0.084) 0.264 (0.161) 0.263 (0.161)
Regula inno a ion scope 0.052 (0.088) 0.051 (0.089) 0.612*** (0.136) 0.602*** (0.136)
EIA o al −0.292*** (0.089) −0.292** (0.093) −0.232*** (0.059) −0.221*** (0.061)
EIA ela i e 0.002 (0.010) 0.002 (0.010) 0.016* (0.006) 0.012 (0.007)
Independen a iables
EIA dep h 0.095** (0.035) 0.098+ (0.054) 0.064 (0.033) 0.104* (0.044)
EIA dep h2−0.003 (0.051) −0.042 (0.038)
EIA b ead h 0.185*** (0.055)) 0.184*** (0.055) −0.112* (0.051) −0.114* (0.051)
EIA b ead h2−0.232** (0.072 −0.231** (0.073) 0.133* (0.065) 0.139* (0.065)
In e ac ion e ec
EIA dep h × EIA b ead h 0.150** (0.051) 0.150** (0.050) 0.151*** (0.043) 0.158*** (0.042)
Wald- χ21296.94 1296.53 1769.45 1771.81
Obse a ions 3400 3400 3400 3400
R20.299 0.299 0.368 0.369
Adjus ed R20.216 0.215 0.293 0.293
F s a is ic 86.463*** 81.033*** 117.964*** 110.738***
No e: This able epo s s anda dized coe icien s; obus s anda d e o s a e in pa en heses.
+p < 0.1; *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.
4019
TABLE 6 | E ec s o EIA based on pa en s ock on accoun ing- and alue- based pe o mance.
Dependen a iable: ABP ( + 1) Dependen a iable: VBP ( + 1)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
Con ol a iables
P io inancial
pe o mance
0.778*** (0.079) 0.776*** (0.078) 0.777*** (0.078) 0.770*** (0.078) 0.532*** (0.083) 0.534*** (0.083) 0.529*** (0.083) 0.526*** (0.084)
Fi m size (log) −0.014 (0.044) −0.016 (0.044) −0.016 (0.044) −0.016 (0.044) 0.189** (0.063) 0.192** (0.063) 0.191** (0.062) 0.191** (0.061)
R&D in ensi y 0.001 (0.002) 0.002 (0.002) 0.002 (0.002) 0.001 (0.002) 0.001 (0.002) 0.001 (0.002) 0.00003 (0.002) −0.0001 (0.002)
Le e age 0.017 (0.015) 0.016 (0.015) 0.017 (0.015) 0.016 (0.015) 0.047*** (0.014) 0.048*** (0.014) 0.045*** (0.014) 0.045** (0.014)
Capi al
in ensi y
−0.075* (0.032) −0.075* (0.032) −0.075* (0.032) −0.076* (0.032) 0.040** (0.014) 0.041** (0.015) 0.039** (0.014) 0.039** (0.014)
Compe i i e
in ensi y
−0.014 (0.027) −0.012 (0.027) −0.012 (0.027) −0.016 (0.028) 0.029 (0.022) 0.027 (0.022) 0.028 (0.022) 0.026 (0.022)
Ma ke
u bulence
0.017 (0.014) 0.015 (0.014) 0.015 (0.014) 0.016 (0.014) −0.009 (0.013) −0.007 (0.013) −0.006 (0.013) −0.005 (0.013)
Regula
inno a ion
asse s
−0.032 (0.043) −0.031 (0.042) −0.031 (0.042) −0.033 (0.041) −0.103 (0.059) −0.105 (0.059) −0.107 (0.061) −0.108 (0.060)
Regula
inno a ion
scope
−0.073 (0.059) −0.068 (0.059) −0.059 (0.060) −0.050 (0.060) 0.462*** (0.075) 0.459*** (0.075) 0.408*** (0.070) 0.412*** (0.070)
EIA o al 0.014 (0.064) −0.003 (0.067) −0.002 (0.067) −0.088 (0.086) −0.010 (0.042) 0.008 (0.044) 0.005 (0.044) −0.026 (0.059)
EIA ela i e −0.001 (0.009) −0.007 (0.009) −0.008 (0.009) −0.006 (0.009) 0.005 (0.004) 0.013* (0.006) 0.018** (0.006) 0.019** (0.006)
Independen a iables
EIA dep h 0.034 (0.020) 0.032 (0.019) 0.045+ (0.023) −0.038* (0.018) −0.020 (0.017) −0.016 (0.021)
EIA b ead h 0.0005 (0.017) 0.024 (0.041) 0.020 (0.041) −0.006 (0.012) −0.147** (0.047) −0.148** (0.047)
EIA b ead h2−0.030 (0.059) −0.008 (0.061) 0.180** (0.063) 0.188** (0.065)
In e ac ion e ec
EIA
dep h × EIA
b ead h
0.081* (0.035) 0.029 (0.032)
Wald- χ21226.65 1230.66 1230.77 1247.31 1283.24 1290.73 1317.90 1320.62
(Con inues)
4020 Business S a egy and he En i onmen , 2025
po olio managemen , echnological di e si ica ion esea ch
sugges s a nonlinea e ec o EIA b ead h (e.g., Kim, Lee,
and Cho2016). Ou indings expand on his by e ealing an
in e ed U- shaped e ec o EIA b ead h on ABP and a U-
shaped e ec on VBP. Delinea ing EIA in o mo e ine- g ained
e ec s allows a mo e ho ough accoun ing o he mul i ace ed
aspec s o ecological inno a ion. In doing so, we demons a e
ha sp eading ecological inno a ion among oo many di e -
en echnology ields can be ha m ul o i ms. This inding
highligh s he impo ance o le e aging and ans e ing he-
o e ical ounda ions om he inno a ion li e a u e o explain
he nuanced e ec s o ecological inno a ion, which a e no
always s aigh o wa d.
Fu he mo e, conside ing dis inc ypes o pe o mance ou -
comes p o ides a mo e comp ehensi e unde s anding o he
e ec s o EIA compa ed wi h s udies ha only conside one pe -
o mance dimension. Ou indings e eal essen ial di e ences
in he e ec s o EIA dep h and EIA b ead h o ABP and VBP,
highligh ing he necessi y o accoun ing o dis inc dimensions
o inancial pe o mance and o conside ing hese di e ences
in heo e ical easoning, because he unde lying mechanisms
d i ing hese ou comes di e . The esul s sugges ha conclu-
sions canno be gene alized ac oss pe o mance ou comes be-
cause hey esul in di e en implica ions. The e o e, we ollow
G ewa sch and Kleindiens (2017) in sugges ing ha s udies in
he ield should accoun o hose di e ences in hei heo e ical
conside a ions.
Finally, om he pe spec i e o esea ch on echnological po -
olio s uc u es, his s udy con ibu es by speci ically es ing he
e ec s o he ecological pa o i ms' inno a ion asse s. Mos
echnological po olio s udies conside a i m's en i e pa en
po olio (Kim, Lee, and Cho 2016), wi hou di e en ia ing
speci ic inno a ion ypes. Conside ing ha ea lie wo ks ha e
highligh ed ha ecological inno a ions subs an ially di e om
egula inno a ions (Cainelli, de Ma chi, and G andine i2015),
esea che s in his a ea should conside hose ema kable di e -
ences when in es iga ing i ms' echnological po olios. Doing
so could help explain he a ying ou comes o he esea che s
ha e obse ed when in es iga ing he e ec o po olio s uc-
u es (e.g., Chiu e al.2008; Huang and Chen2010; Kim, Lee,
and Cho2016).
6.2 | Manage ial Implica ions
Fo manage ial p ac ice, he esul s p o ide impo an insigh s
o i ms o emain inancially success ul by c ea ing a dedi-
ca ed and sys ema ic EIA po olio managemen s a egy. They
sugges ha i is a o able o i ms' p o i s o accumula e EIA in
echnology ields in which he i m al eady has knowledge (i.e.,
high dep h), because i ms can bene i om his deep knowl-
edge s ock wi h he abili y o c ea e new and complex knowl-
edge mo e easily. Mo eo e , such deep asse s se e as impo an
s a egic esou ces because hey suppo i ms in building up
speci ic compe encies ha a e a e and inimi able. Wi h ega d
o EIA b ead h, i ms p o i om an inc easing b ead h o a ce -
ain ex en , a e which o e di e si ying EIA has a nega i e im-
pac on i ms' p o i .
Dependen a iable: ABP ( + 1) Dependen a iable: VBP ( + 1)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
Obse a ions 3400 3400 3400 3400 3400 3400 3400 3400
R20.287 0.288 0.288 0.291 0.297 0.298 0.303 0.303
Adjus ed R20.203 0.204 0.204 0.206 0.214 0.215 0.220 0.220
F s a is ic 111.514*** 94.667*** 87.913*** 83.154*** 116.659*** 99.287*** 94.136*** 88.042***
No e: This able epo s s anda dized coe icien s; obus s anda d e o s a e in pa en heses.
+p < 0.1; *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.
TABLE 6 | (Con inued)

4021
TABLE 7 | E ec s o EIA on accoun ing- and alue- based pe o mance in Yea + 2.
Dependen a iable: ABP ( + 2) Dependen a iable: VBP ( + 2)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
Con ol a iables
P io inancial
pe o mance
0.465*** (0.084) 0.455*** (0.084) 0.456*** (0.084) 0.438*** (0.084) 0.535*** (0.123) 0.529*** (0.122) 0.528*** (0.122) 0.512*** (0.118)
Fi m size (log) 0.117* (0.050) 0.117* (0.050) 0.114* (0.050) 0.104* (0.050) 0.206* (0.091) 0.215* (0.092) 0.221* (0.092) 0.212* (0.093)
R&D in ensi y 0.0005 (0.002) 0.001 (0.002) 0.001 (0.002) 0.001 (0.002) −0.003 (0.003) −0.004 (0.003) −0.004 (0.003) −0.005 (0.003)
Le e age 0.057*** (0.017) 0.056** (0.017) 0.056** (0.017) 0.055** (0.017) 0.055*** (0.016) 0.055*** (0.016) 0.054*** (0.015) 0.053*** (0.015)
Capi al
in ensi y
−0.023 (0.025) −0.023 (0.025) −0.024 (0.025) −0.024 (0.025) 0.036 (0.027) 0.035 (0.027) 0.035 (0.026) 0.034 (0.026)
Compe i i e
in ensi y
−0.042 (0.037) −0.043 (0.037) −0.046 (0.038) −0.050 (0.038) 0.006 (0.031) 0.006 (0.031) 0.012 (0.030) 0.009 (0.030)
Ma ke
u bulence
0.016 (0.022) 0.013 (0.022) 0.013 (0.022) 0.015 (0.022) −0.019 (0.017) −0.020 (0.017) −0.019 (0.017) −0.017 (0.017)
Regula
inno a ion
asse s
0.213 (0.113) 0.208 (0.110) 0.216 (0.112) 0.176 (0.109) 0.247 (0.174) 0.242 (0.173) 0.224 (0.171) 0.186 (0.173)
Regula
inno a ion
scope
0.025 (0.123) 0.052 (0.126) 0.086 (0.125) 0.087 (0.124) 0.774*** (0.192) 0.825*** (0.195) 0.745*** (0.179) 0.746*** (0.178)
EIA o al −0.194** (0.073) −0.251** (0.076) −0.250** (0.076) −0.418*** (0.100) −0.068 (0.072) −0.090 (0.072) −0.093 (0.072) −0.252*** (0.066)
EIA ela i e −0.003 (0.012) −0.018 (0.013) −0.018 (0.013) −0.010 (0.013) 0.001 (0.005) 0.007 (0.008) 0.008 (0.008) 0.016* (0.008)
Independen a iables
EIA dep h 0.116** (0.041) 0.106** (0.040) 0.127** (0.043) 0.031 (0.041) 0.055 (0.038) 0.075 (0.041)
EIA b ead h −0.013 (0.029) 0.064 (0.076) 0.138 (0.074) −0.071*** (0.020) −0.250*** (0.074) −0.180* (0.079)
EIA b ead h2−0.102 (0.109) −0.118 (0.107) 0.236* (0.092) 0.220* (0.092)
In e ac ion e ec
EIA
dep h × EIA
b ead h
0.192** (0.059) 0.181** (0.062)
Wald- χ2395.64 407.32 409.25 428.78 1252.05 1261.40 1279.51 1308.54
(Con inues)
4022 Business S a egy and he En i onmen , 2025
In con as , ou esul s suppo he no ion ha s ock ma ke s
pay g ea e a en ion o he b ead h o a po olio and do no
alue mode a e le els o di e si ica ion, as we ind a posi i e
U- shaped e ec o EIA b ead h on VBP and no e ec o EIA
dep h. In o he wo ds, in es o s seem o p e e ei he low o high
di e si ica ion o EIA ac oss di e en echnology ields and end
o be skep ical wi h espec o a medium le el o di e si ica ion.
Al hough i ms can p o i om a medium le el o EIA b ead h,
hey should conside ha in es o s e alua e pe o mance e-
quen ly, and his medium le el may ini ially inc ease in es o s'
isk pe cep ion o he ex en ha he po en ial gains o a b oad
po olio a e neglec ed. Howe e , when di e si ica ion eaches
a high le el, in es o s seem o app ecia e he bene i s esul -
ing om an ex ensi e di e si ica ion. Consequen ly, manage s
mus be ca e ul when di e si ying hei i m's EIA po olio and
be awa e ha e en i i ms p o i om a medium le el o EIA
b ead h, he ma ke alue could d op. Ou esea ch shows ha
al hough i ms can pa ially bene i om knowledge ou side
hei co e echnological a eas, he d awbacks o such a di e se
po olio o en su pass i s ad an ages unless he i m can ely on
a highly di e se po olio.
I i ms aim o di e si y hei EIAs ac oss di e en echnology
ields o exploi he ad an ages, hey should simul aneously
build up deep knowledge s ocks in he co esponding echnol-
ogy ields, as indica ed by ou inding o a posi i e in e ac ion
e ec o EIA dep h and EIA b ead h o bo h pe o mance ou -
comes. Howe e , we sugges i ms should expand g adually so
ha hey can de elop deep knowledge s ocks in he new ech-
nology ields. Tha way, hey can le e age he ad an ages o EIA
b ead h and dep h simul aneously and consequen ly inc ease
bo h ABP and VBP. The ad an ages o a deep knowledge s ock
in he a ious echnology ields seem o o se he isks o a
b oad EIA po olio, especially o in es o pe cep ions. Ha ing
a deep EIA knowledge s ock in a ious echnology ields seems
o inc ease in es o us ha he i m can o e come di icul ies
esul ing om b oad po olios and ha i s echnological com-
pe encies a e s ong enough o exploi he ad an ages o a b oad
EIA po olio.
6.3 | Limi a ions and Fu u e Resea ch
Al hough ou s udy p o ides impo an implica ions o he-
o y and p ac ice, i is no wi hou limi a ions. The analysis o
EIA po olio s uc u es p o ides impo an insigh s in o he
success ul managemen o ecological inno a ion. Howe e , we
analyzed he dis ibu ion o EIA in isola ion, wi hou conside -
ing he dis ibu ion o i ms' o he inno a ion asse s. The e ec-
i eness o EIA po olios migh be dependen on he op imal
con igu a ion o EIA and hese o he inno a ion asse s. Fu u e
esea ch should elabo a e on his in e play in g ea e dep h,
along wi h po en ial con ingency ac o s. In his con ex , u he
heo e ical de elopmen is needed on he in e connec ions be-
ween ecological and egula inno a ion.
I is also impo an o no e ha we es ed ou hypo heses on a
sample o la ge US i ms, which limi s he gene alizabili y o
ou indings o o he con ex s. The i ms we elied on ope a e
in a speci ic egula o y and economic en i onmen ha may
no apply o i ms in o he egions. Fo ins ance, in es o s in
Dependen a iable: ABP ( + 2) Dependen a iable: VBP ( + 2)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
Obse a ions 3359 3359 3359 3359 3359 3359 3359 3359
R20.117 0.120 0.120 0.125 0.295 0.296 0.299 0.304
Adjus ed R20.011 0.014 0.014 0.019 0.210 0.211 0.215 0.220
F s a is ic 35.967*** 31.333*** 29.232*** 28.585*** 113.823*** 97.031*** 91.394*** 87.236***
No e: This able epo s s anda dized coe icien s; obus s anda d e o s a e in pa en heses.
*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.
TABLE 7 | (Con inued)
4023
TABLE 8 | E ec s o EIA on winso ized accoun ing- and alue- based pe o mance.
Dependen a iable: ABP ( + 1) Dependen a iable: VBP ( + 1)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
Con ol a iables
P io inancial
pe o mance
0.503*** (0.069) 0.494***
(0.069)
0.494***
(0.069)
0.481***
(0.070)
0.211*** (0.041) 0.206*** (0.041) 0.205*** (0.040) 0.193*** (0.040)
Fi m size (log) 0.077 (0.044) 0.080
(0.044)
0.078
(0.044)
0.070
(0.044)
0.120*** (0.031) 0.121*** (0.031) 0.125*** (0.030) 0.118*** (0.030)
R&D in ensi y 0.003 (0.002) 0.003
(0.002)
0.003
(0.002)
0.003
(0.002)
0.001 (0.002) 0.001 (0.002) 0.0004 (0.002) 0.0001 (0.002)
Le e age −0.004 (0.015) −0.005
(0.015)
−0.005
(0.015)
−0.006
(0.015)
0.016 (0.010) 0.015 (0.010) 0.014 (0.010) 0.013 (0.010)
Capi al in ensi y −0.068*** (0.020) −0.069***
(0.020)
−0.069***
(0.020)
−0.069***
(0.020)
0.0004 (0.008) 0.0001 (0.008) 0.0002 (0.008) −0.0002 (0.008)
Compe i i e
in ensi y
−0.056* (0.028) −0.057*
(0.028)
−0.059*
(0.028)
−0.062*
(0.028)
−0.015 (0.019) −0.015 (0.019) −0.011 (0.019) −0.013 (0.019)
Ma ke
u bulence
0.026 (0.016) 0.024
(0.016)
0.024
(0.016)
0.027
(0.016)
0.037** (0.012) 0.035** (0.012) 0.035** (0.012) 0.038** (0.012)
Regula
inno a ion
asse s
0.080 (0.103) 0.074
(0.100)
0.079
(0.100)
0.048
(0.097)
0.145 (0.103) 0.142 (0.101) 0.129 (0.100) 0.100 (0.098)
Regula
inno a ion scope
−0.138 (0.079) −0.097
(0.079)
−0.075
(0.082)
−0.075
(0.081)
0.328*** (0.064) 0.345*** (0.065) 0.289*** (0.063) 0.288*** (0.061)
EIA o al −0.159* (0.072) −0.210**
(0.074)
−0.210**
(0.074)
−0.344***
(0.099)
−0.078 (0.041) −0.108** (0.041) −0.109** (0.041) −0.235*** (0.048)
EIA ela i e 0.006 (0.009) −0.002
(0.010)
−0.003
(0.010)
0.004
(0.010)
0.005 (0.004) −0.002 (0.006) −0.001 (0.006) 0.005 (0.006)
Independen a iables
EIA dep h 0.099**
(0.034)
0.092**
(0.035)
0.107**
(0.037)
0.060* (0.025) 0.077** (0.026) 0.091*** (0.025)
EIA b ead h −0.041
(0.025)
0.008
(0.050)
0.068
(0.053)
−0.014 (0.017) −0.139*** (0.034) −0.083* (0.034)
(Con inues)
4024 Business S a egy and he En i onmen , 2025
o he egions migh eac di e en ly o ce ain po olio s uc-
u es. Mo eo e , la ge i ms usually ha e access o subs an ial
esou ces, which allows o di e en s a egic app oaches han
hose o smalle i ms. Thei complex o ganiza ional s uc u es
u he di e en ia e hem om smalle i ms, po en ially lead-
ing o di e en s a egic decisions. Fu u e s udies should in-
es iga e whe he he e ec s o EIA dep h and b ead h a y in
Dependen a iable: ABP ( + 1) Dependen a iable: VBP ( + 1)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
EIA b ead h2−0.065
(0.072)
−0.079
(0.072)
0.164*** (0.046) 0.151*** (0.045)
In e ac ion e ec
EIA dep h × EIA
b ead h
0.154**
(0.060)
0.144*** (0.031)
Wald- χ2569.75 585.51 586.58 605.61 649.77 662.92 684.54 729.75
Obse a ions 3400 3400 3400 3400 3400 3400 3400 3400
R20.158 0.162 0.162 0.166 0.176 0.179 0.184 0.194
Adjus ed R20.058 0.062 0.062 0.067 0.079 0.082 0.087 0.097
F s a is ic 51.796*** 45.039*** 41.899*** 40.375*** 59.070*** 50.994*** 48.896*** 48.650***
No e: This able epo s s anda dized coe icien s; obus s anda d e o s a e in pa en heses.
*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.
TABLE 8 | (Con inued)
TABLE 9 | 2SLS IV eg ession o he e ec s o EIA dep h and
b ead h on accoun ing- and alue- based pe o mance.
Dependen
a iable:
ABP ( + 1)
Dependen
a iable:
VBP ( + 1)
(1) (2)
Con ol a iables
P io inancial
pe o mance
0.747*** (0.078) 0.468*** (0.076)
Fi m size (log) −0.033 (0.044) 0.120* (0.048)
R&D in ensi y 0.002 (0.002) −0.003 (0.002)
Le e age 0.013 (0.015) 0.032** (0.013)
Capi al
in ensi y
−0.079* (0.032) 0.038** (0.014)
Compe i i e
in ensi y
−0.027 (0.028) −0.007 (0.023)
Ma ke
u bulence
0.015 (0.014) 0.007 (0.012)
Regula
inno a ion
asse s
0.067 (0.083) 0.264 (0.161)
Regula
inno a ion
scope
0.052 (0.088) 0.612*** (0.136)
EIA o al −0.292*** (0.089) −0.232*** (0.059)
EIA ela i e 0.002 (0.010) 0.016* (0.006)
Independen a iables
EIA dep h 0.095** (0.035) 0.064 (0.033)
EIA b ead h 0.185*** (0.055) −0.112* (0.051)
EIA b ead h2−0.232** (0.072) 0.133* (0.065)
In e ac ion e ec
EIA dep h x
EIA b ead h
0.150** (0.051) 0.151*** (0.043)
Wald- χ21296.94 1769.45
Obse a ions 3400 3400
R20.299 0.368
Adjus ed R20.216 0.293
F s a is ic 1296.947*** 1769.457***
No e: This able epo s s anda dized coe icien s; obus s anda d e o s a e in
pa en heses.
*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.