Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP9055
Authors: Hanna Hottenrott; Sascha Rexhauser; Reinhilde Veugelers
Abstract: The literature on within-firm organizational change and productivity suggests that firms can make more efficient use of certain technologies if complementary forms of organization are adopted. This issue may be of even greater importance for the case of greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement technologies imposed by public authority as to reduce social costs of climate change while they are not necessarily expected to increase private returns. Previous research, however, has largely neglected this aspect. Using German firm-level data, we find that organizational change increases the returns to the use of CO2 reducing technologies and that joint adoption leads to higher productivity. Without having introduced complementary organizational innovations, the adoption of CO2 reducing technologies is associated with lower productivity.
Keywords: Environmental Innovation; Firm Behavior; Innovation; Organizational Change; Productivity; Technical Change
JEL Codes: D23; D24; L23; O32; O33; Q55
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Organizational change (L29) | Returns to the use of CO2 reducing technologies (Q55) |
| Green technology adoption (Q55) | Productivity (O49) |
| Joint adoption of green technology and organizational change (Q55) | Higher productivity than either alone (O49) |
| Organizational change (L29) | Productivity (O49) |
| Green technology adoption + Organizational change (Q55) | Productivity (O49) |