Eco-innovation performance in the European Union economies: Perspective on outcomes

Objective: The objective of this article was to examine the eco-innovation performance of the European Un-ion’s economies in terms of eco-innovation outcomes with a particular focus on resource efficiency and socio-economic outcomes. Research Design & Methods: We used quantitative research methods, such as descriptive statistics, Euclidean distance, and Pearson’s correlation index. We based the comparative analysis of the eco-innovation indices related to outputs and outcomes on the Eco-innovation Scoreboard. We conducted it for the years 2013-2022. Findings: The research results showed that EU countries considered as one group improved their eco-innovation performance as measured by the Eco-innovation Index (EII), as well as in terms of the EII composite indices related to innovation outcomes during the study period. We also observed improvement in the EII and the EII thematic areas observed for both the eco-innovation leaders and catching-up economies. However, the leading countries maintained and even slightly increased the distance to the EU-27 average in terms of the total EII index, while significantly increasing the distance in terms of socio-economic outcomes and eco-innovation outputs. Moreover, the rates of growth of eco-innovation outputs and outcomes were much higher for these countries than the growth rate of their eco-innovation inputs. Implications & Recommendations: The study highlights the importance of the effective conversion of the eco-innovation inputs into eco-innovation outputs and outcomes, which is a big challenge, especially for the economies with poorer eco-innovation performance. The increase in eco-innovation inputs alone does not translate directly into an increase in eco-innovation outcomes in all conditions. Creating appropriate conditions for the development of eco-innovation requires a coordinated political approach, especially between innovation, research and environmental policy. Contribution & Value Added: The study contributes to a better understanding of eco-innovation for better policymaking. In particular, it can give a comprehensive picture of eco-innovation outcomes in the European Union as one of the key components of eco-innovation performance. The article also addresses the vital issue of the relationship between eco-innovation inputs and eco-innovation outputs and outcomes.