USING SUSTAINABILITY-ORIENTED PROCESS INNOVATION TO SHAPE PRODUCT MARKETS

Traditionally, the innovation literature has viewed product innovation as the key competitive driver for firms in the market. But as demands for sustainability increase and technology is advancing sustainability-oriented innovation across industries, there is an opportunity to reconsider the role of process innovations. This study follows the market development process of a start-up founded on the principle of sustainability-oriented innovation and explores how the process innovation itself is used to shape the external market. This paper considers the relationship between process innovations and external market development through a longitudinal case study of a vertical farm start-up in Stockholm, Sweden. Findings show that through a number of representational practices, process innovation can also serve external objectives and play a role in external market development for firms incorporating the principles of sustainability-oriented innovation.