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Charting the course: real‐world application of sustainability and innovation principles in the portuguese blue economy firms

2025-11-30Journal article Open access
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dc.contributor.authorElston, Jennifer Nicole
dc.contributor.authorPinto, Hugo
dc.contributor.authorNogueira, Carla
dc.date.accessioned2025-12-30T13:32:09Z
dc.date.available2025-12-30T13:32:09Z
dc.date.issued2025-11-30
dc.description.abstractThe blue economy has emerged as a key sector for linking sustainability and innovation, yet existing research has largely overlooked how firms operationalize these processes in practice. This study addresses that gap by asking: How do Portuguese blue economy firms embed sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI) into their strategies, and what institutional conditions enable or constrain it? This study explores SOI through an analysis of five Portuguese firms. Adopting a qualitative approach, it employs semistructured interviews, supported by content comparison techniques and thematic coding. The findings indicate that stakeholder collaboration, circular economy principles, and renewable energy integration support sustainability performance, whereas financial constraints, regulatory inefficiencies, and bureaucratic hurdles limit broader adoption. Drawing on institutional theory, the resource-based view, and the triple bottom line framework, the study contributes theoretically by showing how SOI is negotiated between institutional pressures and firm capabilities, revealing tensions between compliance and strategic agency. The study underscores the importance of institutional support, stakeholder engagement, and adaptive business strategies in overcoming systemic barriers. These results provide practical direction for policymakers and business leaders, highlighting the need for streamlined regulation, targeted financial incentives, and cross-sector collaboration. For policymakers, this means aligning incentives with SME capacities and building collaborative governance platforms; for firms, it means leveraging partnerships and resource-based advantages to scale sustainable business models. By clarifying both institutional dynamics and firm-level practices, the article advances understanding of how sustainability transitions are enacted within the blue economy.eng
dc.description.sponsorshipJ.N.E.'s research was funded by FCT under Grant Agreement ID: 2024.01284.BD. H.E.R.S.C.P. is supported by FCT (CEEC INST/00052/2021/CP2792/CT0001). All authors further acknowledge the support of FCT through project UIDB/04020/2020.
dc.identifier.doi10.1002/bse.70396
dc.identifier.issn0964-4733
dc.identifier.issn1099-0836
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/28021
dc.language.isoeng
dc.peerreviewedyes
dc.publisherWiley
dc.relationResearch Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being
dc.relation.ispartofBusiness Strategy and the Environment
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.subjectBarriers to sustainable innovation
dc.subjectBlue economy
dc.subjectInnovation
dc.subjectQualitative methods
dc.subjectSustainability
dc.titleCharting the course: real‐world application of sustainability and innovation principles in the portuguese blue economy firmseng
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.awardTitleResearch Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDB%2F04020%2F2020/PT
oaire.citation.titleBusiness Strategy and the Environment
oaire.fundingStream6817 - DCRRNI ID
oaire.versionhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
person.familyNameElston
person.familyNamePinto
person.familyNameNogueira
person.givenNameJennifer Nicole
person.givenNameHugo
person.givenNameCarla
person.identifier.ciencia-idFA17-8863-83CB
person.identifier.ciencia-id1510-E2AE-B8D8
person.identifier.ciencia-idFE1D-99C6-8B73
person.identifier.orcid0009-0000-7500-5111
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-8497-4798
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-1781-9675
person.identifier.ridA-1578-2018
person.identifier.scopus-author-id24759415100
project.funder.identifierhttp://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871
project.funder.nameFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
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