Firm Size and Sustainable Innovation: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between firm size and sustainable innovation in large international firms. To this end, we develop a labor demand framework. The contribution to the literature is to explore external knowledge in determining the employment impact of sustainable innovation. Our investigation is based on firms in three economic areas: Europe, Japan, and the United States. In this way, we will appreciate the extent to which the technological spillovers are important from a geographical perspective. The findings provide evidence of the significance of spillover effects on a firm’s size; however, these effects depend on the spillover stock type.