ATTENTION/WARNING - NE PAS DÉPOSER ICI/DO NOT SUBMIT HERE

Ceci est la version de TEST de DIAL.mem. Veuillez ne pas soumettre votre mémoire sur ce site mais bien à l'URL suivante: 'https://thesis.dial.uclouvain.be'.
This is the TEST version of DIAL.mem. Please use the following URL to submit your master thesis: 'https://thesis.dial.uclouvain.be'.
 

The Complementarity of Corporate Sustainability and Innovation: Evidence from the Pharmaceutical Industry

Mortreu, Victor
(2019)

Files

MORTREU_Victor_35261700_2019.pdf
  • Open access
  • Adobe PDF
  • 3.84 MB
Download

Details

Supervisors
Denis, Sabine
Faculty
Louvain School of Management
Degree label
Master [120] en ingénieur de gestion
Abstract
In this study, the complementary relationship between corporate sustainability and firm-level innovation is analyzed. Both the impact of CSR on firm-level innovation and the impact of innovation on CSR is extensively studied and empirically tested in the pharmaceutical industry, using a dataset of 126 listed pharmaceutical companies. A conceptual model explaining the potential mutually reinforcing relationship between the CSR-Innovation concepts was developed. This theoretical understanding highlights the three ways CSR is expected to influence innovation and the four ways firm-level innovation can foster CSR adoption and performance. Afterward, a theoretical framework was created to test the positive relationship between the two concepts. Corporate sustainability was proxied by a firm’s ESG score, and innovation was holistically measured by six metrics. Through statistical analysis, evidence for all five hypotheses was found. This empirically proves a positive relationship between the two concepts, with a strong indication of a potential mutually reinforcing relationship in a high-innovation industry like the pharmaceutical sector. This research supports the business case of CSR by providing new evidence of the strategic value of CSR on firm-level innovation.