Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of the article is to investigate the relation between two novel management concepts: Green Competences (GCs) and Responsible Innovation (RI). Design/methodology/approach: The research is based on an integrative literature review. Findings: The research based on extensive literature studies confirms that the relationship between managers’ and employees’ GCs and a firm’s RI orientation is dynamic and reciprocal. This means that GCs acquired by organization members contribute to the development of a firm’s RI orientation and also that a company’s RI orientation has an impact on the increase of GCs among managers and employees in a firm. The conducted literature review enabled formulating five propositions regarding the relationship between GCs and RI. Research limitations/implications: The author of the article is aware of the limitations of the conducted research. First, the concepts of GCs as well as RI are very broad, defined and explained in the literature in numerous different ways. This makes them difficult to describe and assess with certainty. Due to the number of publications necessary to study in regard to the concepts of green competences and responsible innovations, the conducted studies should be treated as an initial stage for further analyses. Moreover, as the study is restricted by the re-interpretation of existing research, further empirical research is needed to test the five propositions. Finally, due to a very dynamic development of the research field, a static, one-time analysis seems to be insufficient. Therefore, the replication of the study in the future is recommended to observe changing trends and shifts in the research field over time. Originality/value: Based on the propositions regarding the relations between the GC and RI concepts, several models can be built to analyze the impact of organization members’ GCs on a company’s orientation towards RI as well as the impact of a firm’s RI orientation on the level of GCs acquired by managers and employees. Future research pathways refer mainly to the operationalization of the RI dimensions as well as a firm’s RI orientation