The successful model of the 20th century does not only fail due to the lack of inexpensive raw material and the plenty of energy sources but also due to the climate change and the necessary transformation of the production model to more environmentally friendly aspects.  The concept of green growth as a strategy for achieving sustainable development has undergone a remarkable development in recent years expanding to the entire economy and affecting overall production. Moreover, refers to a resource-efficient, cleaner and more resilient production way without slowing countries’ growth. In a broader sense, the discussion of sustainable green growth enables business innovation and thus, eco-innovation activities. On the other hand, eco-innovation, as a new concept of great importance to business and policy makers, covers many innovations of environmental benefit.

Innovation processes toward sustainable development has received increasing attention during the past years, theoretical and methodological approaches are yet not fully developed. Moreover, the links and possible channels between green growth and eco-innovation activities are still unexplored.  The proposed PhD thesis aims at clarifying the channels between green growth and eco-innovations in an analytical framework and proposing foundations for both two concepts. Moreover, our main aim is to explore and investigate the effect of eco-innovation activities on firm’s growth. Specific focus should be given in different types of industries and firms according to specific characteristics.

Our research question will be how the investment in “green” R&D (R&D for eco-innovation) affects the efficiency and the financial performance of the firms. A follow up question is: What impact the environmental expenditure has on the firm’s profitability and how R&D Intensity affects the impact of the environmental expenditure on the firm’s profitability? We will make an empirical study including several countries (US and EU).