Environmental Innovation and Sustainability in Small Handicraft Businesses in Mexico.docVIP

Sustainability 2011, 3, 984-1002; doi:10.3390/su3070984 OPEN ACCESS sustainability ISSN 2071-1050 /journal/sustainability Article Environmental Innovation and Sustainability in Small Handicraft Businesses in Mexico Patricia S. Sánchez-Medina 1,*, Jack Corbett 2 and Arcelia Toledo-López 1 1 CIIDIR, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Calle Hornos No. 1003, Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán, Oaxaca 71230, México; E-Mail: arcetole@ 2 Portland State University, 1825 Southwest Broadway, Portland, OR 97201, USA; E-Mail: corbettj@ * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mails: psanchez@ipn.mx; ms_287506@.mx; Tel.: +52-951-51-70400; Fax: +52-951-51-70610. Received: 3 May 2011; in revised form: 5 July 2011 / Accepted: 6 July 2011 / Published: 14 July 2011 Abstract: In this study, the relationship between environmental innovation and sustainability is analyzed in 168 handicraft businesses in the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Puebla, and Tlaxcala. The results show a direct, positive relationship between environmental innovation and sustainability in three dimensions: economic, social, and environmental. In terms of determination, the variables that best explain sustainability are: organization type, product innovation, and process innovation. The age of the handicraft businesses was not a significant factor in explaining sustainability. This study concludes that handicraft businesses make sustainable choices more as a result of a desire for profit maximization than as a result of environmental consciousness, as can be explained by neoclassical view of economics. Keywords: environmental innovation; sustainability; handicraft businesses 1. Introduction In the last decade, shareholders and stakeholders have increased pressure on companies to broaden their accountability beyond solely economic performance to include environmental performance and sustainability. Business sustainability