Eco‐Innovation Adoption in the Olive Oil Sector: A Sustainability Analysis

ABSTRACT The growing concern among consumers for more environmentally friendly products is forcing companies to align their strategies accordingly. In recent years, eco‐innovation has emerged as a key business strategy to address these new expectations. Considering the significance of the olive oil sector in Spain, this study seeks to evaluate the extent to which eco‐innovations have been adopted in the primary processing segment of the olive oil sector. To this end, a CAWI survey with CATI follow‐up was conducted among olive oil mills in the autonomous region of Andalusia. The final sample consisted of 164 cases, drawn from a population of 800. The findings indicate that the level of eco‐innovation in the olive oil industry is low. Furthermore, the results enabled the categorization of olive oil mills into four groups based on their environmental actions: (1) environmentally responsible mills, (2) eco‐innovative mills, (3) passive mills, and (4) footprint mills. These results have implications for academia, businesses, and institutions alike.