How use of knowledge sources influences eco- innovation in the tourism sector through product innovation and/or process innovation.

Abstract

Although studies that analyze eco-innovation without differentiating among industries are proliferating, research has not yet identified the factors that lead to eco-innovation in tourism sector firms. Since innovation in general is nourished by access to knowledge sources and the intensity with which they are used, this study analyzes the effect of intensive use of knowledge sources on eco-innovation in the tourism sector. It also analyzes the possible mediating role of traditional orientation of the firm in product innovation and/or process innovation. We use two data sources: panel data from Spain’s National Statistics Institute on 199 tourism firms for 2011-2015 and primary data gathered from a set of 198 tourism firms collected separately via questionnaire in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic. The second dataset, which was collected independently of the first, aims to corroborate the results of the first in a different economic context and different firms. Our results indicate a significant distinction between product/service and process innovation. The findings show that that tourism firms rely on process innovation to implement eco-innovation, whereas product innovation has no influence in these firms in any of the years analyzed.