Does Ecological Sustainability Really Matter? Evaluation of Its Mediating Role in the Relationship between Innovation and Competitiveness

ABSTRACT Organizational studies highlight the role of innovation for competitiveness, but few of them address ecological sustainability as one of the variables in this relationship. The traditional model only considers economic growth to be anchored in the dimension of innovation, disregarding the environment. Thus, the purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of ecological sustainability on the relationship between innovation and global competitiveness. To reach the goal of the manuscript, a database was used that included indicators from 119 countries present in the Global Competitiveness Report of WEF and the Global Innovation Index. The data were treated using regression analysis with mediation techniques. The results suggest significant mediation of ecological sustainability in the relationship between innovation and global competitiveness. This work shows the importance of ecological sustainability to increase country’s innovative activity and consequently its competitiveness. Additionally, it draws attention to the gap in studies that present these relationships at the country level. In terms of practical contributions, the findings support the recommendation for companies to focus on actions to environmental and innovation management improving sustainability and increasing organizational performance and long-term survival. Finally, this research also draws attention to the lack of an important indicator of ecological sustainability in a report addressing countries’ competitiveness.

摘要：组织管理学研究凸显了创新对竞争力的关键作用，但鲜有研究将生态可持续性纳入该关系的考察变量范畴。传统模型仅将经济增长锚定于创新维度，却完全忽视了环境因素。据此，本研究旨在探析生态可持续性对创新与全球竞争力之间关系的影响。为达成研究目标，本研究采用了一套涵盖119个国家的指标数据库，数据来源于世界经济论坛（World Economic Forum, WEF）的《全球竞争力报告》（Global Competitiveness Report）与《全球创新指数》（Global Innovation Index）。研究采用带中介效应的回归分析法对数据进行处理。结果表明，生态可持续性在创新与全球竞争力的关系中存在显著的中介效应。本研究证实了生态可持续性对提升一国创新活动水平、进而增强其竞争力的重要价值。此外，本研究也点明了当前学界在国家层面开展此类关系研究的空白。就实践贡献而言，本研究结果可为相关建议提供支撑：企业应聚焦环境与创新管理举措，以提升可持续性、优化组织绩效并实现长期存续。最后，本研究还指出，在针对国家竞争力的相关报告中，仍缺失一项重要的生态可持续性指标。