Addressing barriers to innovation and eco-innovation: empirical evidence from Tunisia

Despite the extensive literature on eco-innovation, few studies analyse it in developing countries. Similarly, few studies address the barriers to eco-innovation. To fill this gap, this paper aims to analyse the barriers that prevent Tunisian firms from innovating and eco-innovating. It is evident that some firms face barriers to innovation and eco-innovation activities for various reasons. According to the survey conducted among 159 Tunisian industrial companies during the period 2018-2021, we find that 62% of them have failed to adopt and/or create eco-innovations. Using principal component analysis (PCA) and descriptive statistics, we identify three groups of barriers to eco-innovation: cost barriers, knowledge barriers and market barriers. However, limited financial availability and lack of mastery of new market needs are considered the main barriers for firms to innovate.