Intermediaries motivating eco-innovation in Jordanian small and medium enterprises

Abstract

This paper aims at identifying the role intermediaries in small medium-sized enterprises’ (SME) quest for eco-innovation according to an empirical qualitative interview among Jordanian companies as well as applied cleaner production as an a approach which reduces environmental pollution along with positive financial benefits for the enterprise. The lack of partnership between knowledge producers (academia) and knowledge users (industry) is tangible and unsatisfying. This also has negative impact on the innovation competitiveness of Small and medium enterprises SMEs. SMEs can access to and benefit from crucial external knowledge through alliance with innovation intermediaries, namely, the Water and Environment Centre (WEC) at the Royal Scientific Society (RSS). Cleaner Production CP is considered the method and tool to recognize where and why a company is losing resources in the form of waste and pollution, and how these losses can be minimized. The key finding that the proactive approach (cleaner production) is one essential push factor to trigger eco-innovations in SMEs. This finding indicates that SMEs might need facilitation for eco-innovation of different levels of support as well as, highlighting drivers and barriers for eco-innovation in SMEs.