My recent explorations into sustainable innovation diffusion—especially in the context of bioplastic food packaging and ecoconcrete—revealed that resilience is not just a buzzword, but a foundational element in reshaping markets and value networks.
Imagine an existing industry network, comfortably entrenched in decades-old habits, supply chains, and business relationships. Now, introduce a sustainable innovation—such as bioplastic packaging—that requires dismantling parts of this established structure. This is not merely replacing one material with another; it is about redefining relationships, re-evaluating partnerships, and reconstructing the market logic itself.
Our research showed clearly that introducing innovations like bioplastics means operating at multiple levels simultaneously—firm, network, and macro. Each level demands a unique type of resilience:
Perhaps one of the most compelling findings from our studies is the recognition that resilience within innovation diffusion is inherently collective. No single actor—be it a company, policymaker, or even a group of NGOs—can effectively reshape markets alone. The resilience required to sustain momentum and achieve significant market change emerges from collaborative, distributed mobilization across multiple stakeholders. Our analysis highlighted this vividly through the concept of "distributed mobilization," especially in conservative industries characterized by strong existing institutional frameworks, like the construction sector or food packaging industry.
This collective resilience isn't solely built through direct, obvious actions aimed explicitly at market reshaping. Interestingly, our results suggest indirect supportive actions—like education or incremental changes towards sustainability—also build significant resilience, creating conditions that indirectly accelerate larger shifts towards sustainable markets.
Every innovation process faces resistance. Defensive actors—those who prefer maintaining the status quo—often slow down market shifts. However, our findings suggest their impact is surprisingly limited over the long term, primarily due to the overwhelming social pressure toward sustainability. Even resistance indirectly contributes to resilience, forcing proponents of innovation to clarify their strategies, strengthen their alliances, and deepen their commitment to sustainable goals.
An essential yet often overlooked source of resilience is university-industry collaboration (UIC). Our research underscored the role of UIC as a critical facilitator of market creation and socio-cultural shifts. By broadening the scope of collaboration from simple R&D (Research and development) towards long-term strategic alliances, universities and industries together enhance systemic resilience. Sustainable open innovation, specifically, proves beneficial in aligning technological, market, and institutional changes needed for transitioning toward circular economy and sustainability.
Resilience in the diffusion of sustainable innovations is fundamentally about managing simultaneous acts of creation and destruction—dismantling outdated networks while cultivating new, sustainable ecosystems. This duality is challenging yet essential for long-term success.
Our collective ability to withstand setbacks, adapt to new market realities, and persist through gradual, sometimes frustratingly incremental progress, defines the pace and depth of sustainable innovation adoption. Understanding and embracing resilience in its complexity, from firm-level adjustments to macro-level shifts, is not just advisable—it is indispensable.
As we continue this path toward sustainability, acknowledging resilience as a shared, strategic resource will undoubtedly become more vital. How resilient is your organization or network in the face of sustainable change? Perhaps it's time to find out.
Writer of this blog post is Hanna Komulainen, FRONT Associate professor (tenure track) in Resilient Organizations and Business Networks, Oulu Business School, Department of Marketing, Management and International Business.
You can read more about the topics from these articles:
Keränen, O., Lehtimäki, T., Komulainen, H., & Ulkuniemi, P. (2023). Changing the market for a sustainable innovation. Industrial Marketing Management, 108, 108-121.
Keränen, O., Komulainen, H., Lehtimäki, T., & Ulkuniemi, P. (2021). Restructuring existing value networks to diffuse sustainable innovations in food packaging. Industrial Marketing Management, 93, 509-519.
The Exploring resilience blog discusses the current themes of research, teaching and development of resilience, i.e., crisis resistance and deepens knowledge about the management of global change, and possible solutions to the wicked problems of sustainability. The authors are researchers and experts in the field, and members of the cooperation networks of the University of Oulu’s FRONT PROFI7 research programme.