Eco-innovations and economic performance of regions: a systematic literature survey

Regional eco-innovations (EIs) are geographically localized production systems or organizational networks that support new environmentally friendly products and processes, as well as their distribution and marketing. However, little is known about the factors and contextual settings that promote EIs and maximize their effect on regional economic performance. The study aims to fill this knowledge gap by using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) and meta-analysis tools. According to our analysis, the most frequently mentioned factors behind regional concentrations of EIs are ‘command and control instruments’, ‘market pull’ and ‘R&D cooperation between businesses and universities’. However, the study shows no apparent agglomeration effect in the regional concentrations of EIs, which is generally present with other innovation practices, and no strong dependence of EIs on the type of economic activity, implying that the onset of EIs can occur in multiple regional settings.