Conservatives, Progressives and Transformers: The Influence of Marketers' Biases on Sustainable Innovation

ABSTRACT The inherent uncertainty of the innovation process, amplified by the complexity of the Anthropocene, means that marketers are likely to be subject to decision‐making biases that can affect sustainable product innovation. In parallel, new approaches to sustainability and innovation management are emerging, aiming to mitigate such biases and accelerate the sustainable transition. Yet, research into the critical role of individual decision‐making in innovation management is still in its early stages. Drawing on the theoretical fields of behavioural strategy, innovation management and sustainability, and using 19 case studies, our research reveals the existence of three profiles of marketers based on their attitude towards sustainable innovation: ‘conservatives’, ‘progressives’ and ‘transformers’. We demonstrate that these profiles are linked to specific decision‐making biases and explore how these biases shape the sustainability level of a new product. From a theoretical perspective, by bridging sustainability and innovation management through the lens of behavioural strategy, this paper improves our understanding of why fundamental differences in sustainable innovation processes and outcomes exist. Our research contributes to the existing literature on the topic by developing a typology of marketers towards sustainable innovation, and by identifying new cognitive biases in marketing practices. It reveals which biases hinder sustainable innovation and which ones positively influence the sustainability of new products.