Obstacles and Drivers for Sustainable Innovation Development and Implementation in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the economic development and provide most of new jobs. At the same time, SMEs are contributing factors in environmental degradation due to their high numbers and their cumulative effect. In this context, broad application of sustainable innovations to SMEs becomes a priority task. The article presents results of a study conducted in Lithuania seeking to analyse obstacles and drivers for implementation of sustainable innovations in small and medium sized enterprises. For analysis, enterprises have been divided in two groups: SMEs with experience in development/ implementation of sustainable innovations and SMEs without such experience. To check reliability of results and to compare SME opinions in different countries, results of the study conducted in Lithuania have been compared to those of three similar studies carried out in other countries. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.60.2.1242