Types of innovation and firm societal commitment intensity: Analytical and empirical insights

By considering together the kind of CSR a firm builds up and the type of innovation it implements the paper provides a fresh look on the relationship between CSR and Innovation. Three kinds of CSR (defensive strategic, ethic) are outlined. With respect to innovation behaviour besides product and process technological innovation, we suggest to retain non-technological innovation as well. We put the emphasis on the complexity of innovation conduct by defining two basic types of innovators: single and complex. Using data from two French surveys (Enquête nationale sur le développement durable de 2011, CIS 2012) we estimate diverse Probit models with Heckman correction. Our main findings show strategic CSR set up a strong determinant of complex innovation. By contrast, defensive CSR is a poor vector of innovation. JEL Codes: O30, O00, M2