Determinants of eco-innovations in Brazilian firms : a review

For many years, the imperatives of innovation have been oriented to competitiveness achievement, not to environmental concerns. The debates about the role of governments, business, citizens and the diversity of global and social actors in seeking answers to short and long term environmental problems, especially related to greenhouse gases emissions have increased. This paper provides an overview of the recent body of literature in the field of eco-innovations in Brazil, identifying determinants and impacts of the adoption by the firms. It also contributes to the discussion of the relationship between Brazilian policies and regulations and the implementation of eco-innovations by Brazilian firms. The study analysed data from empirical studies in three databases: Scopus, Web of Science and SciELO. Although ecological issues became part of the innovation agenda and eco-innovation is already a crucial field, Brazil lacks specific literature on the area and needs to advance a local discussion. With a tradition of having a very bureaucratic public administration which is sensitive to political interference, the innovation policies did not deal with environmental issues until very recently. Environmental and innovation policies should be aligned, complementing each other.