The increased interest in sustainability issues in recent years due to climate change has led to an increased interest among capital investors to invest more sustainably. In addition, there has been an increased interest among stakeholders, regulators and citizens to know more about the positive impact of sustainability reporting on business results. Sustainable investments are often followed by high costs, which makes it interesting from an investor perspective to investigate whether this investment can have a positive impact on a firm's financial result. Among the sectors that play a major role in sustainability investment is the real estate sector, as buildings currently account for 36 percent of CO2 emissions and 40 percent of energy consumption in the EU. Therefore, it is interesting to investigate how sustainability performance affects real estate firm performance. In this study, sustainability performance is measured using ESG scores while company performance is represented by ROA, ROE and Tobin's Q. Several regression analyses have been conducted using data from Eikon on real estate companies from 15 European countries. In addition to the overall ESG scores, the various ESG pillars were examined separately. The data analysis provides evidence of a positive significant impact of the overall ESG result on all three performance measures. Furthermore, we find that environmental disclosure has a positive impact on ROE and Tobin's Q, social disclosure has a positive effect on ROA and ROE and Governance disclosure has a positive effect on Tobin's Q. By applying these results to the shareholder- and the stakeholder theory, we can conclude that our study provides limited support for the stakeholder theory as most of our hypotheses are supported. This implies that the positive impact of sustainability investments on firm performance can lead to value creation for all stakeholders, not just the shareholders. / De senaste åren har vi sett ett ökat intresse för hållbarhetsfrågor vilket kan kopplas till klimatförändringarna. Detta har i sin tur drivit på intresset bland kapitalplacerare att investera mer hållbart. Parallellt med detta har intressenter, tillsynsmyndigheter och medborgare ökat sitt intresse för kopplingen mellan hållbarhet och finansiella resultat. Investeringar i hållbarhet medför ofta högre kostnader vilket gör det intressant ur ett investerarperspektiv att undersöka om det kan ha en positiv inverkan på ett det ekonomiska resultatet. Fastighetssektorn innehar en nyckelroll i omställningen till ett mer hållbart samhälle då byggnader ansvarar för 36 procent av CO2-utsläppen och 40 procent av energiförbrukningen inom EU. Givet denna nyckelroll och det kostsamma arbete som ligger framför fastighetssektorn är det således intressant att undersöka hur hållbarhetsarbete påverkar fastighetsbolagens finansiella resultat. I denna studie mäts fastighetsbolagens prestationer inom hållbarhet med hjälp av ESG-poängmedan det finansiella resultatet representeras av ROA, ROE och Tobins Q. Flertalet regressionsanalyser har utförts på data hämtad från databasen Eikon. Urvalet består av 111 fastighetsbolag från 15 olika länder inom Europa. Utöver den övergripande ESG-poängen undersöktes även de olika ESG-pelarna separat. Dataanalysen visar på en positiv signifikant inverkan av det övergripande ESG-resultatet på alla tre prestationsmätningar ROA, ROE och Tobin’s Q. Vidare finner vi att miljöpelaren (E) har en positiv inverkan på ROE och Tobins Q, den sociala pelaren (S) har en positiv effekt på ROA och ROE och ägarstyrning (G) har en positiv effekt på Tobins Q. Genom att analysera dessa resultat med hjälp av aktieägar- och intressentteorin kan vi dra slutsatsen att vår studie ger begränsat stöd för intressentteorin då en majoritet av våra hypoteser stöds. Detta betyder att investeringar i hållbarhet kan resultera i värdeskapande för fler intressenter än enbart aktieägarna.

Yes / Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of dynamic marketing capabilities (DMC), foreign ownership modes and sub-national locations on the performance of foreign owned affiliates (FOAs) in developing economies. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a sample of 254 FOAs in Indian manufacturing sector (covering the period of 2000-2008 leading to 623 firm-year observations), the empirical paper adopts the panel data regression approach. Findings – The study confirms the significant importance of DMC to assist FOAs to gain better sales performance in an emerging market such as India. The findings indicate that Wholly Owned Foreign Affiliates (WOFAs) have better sales performance than International Joint Venture (IJV), and Majority-owned IJV (MAIJV) perform better than Minority-owned IJV (MIIJV) in the Indian manufacturing sector. The results confirm that effective deployment of DMC leads to better sales performance in WOFAs and to some extent in MAIJVs. Perhaps the most interesting finding is that developing DMC in non-Metropolitan areas is associated with higher sales growth than in Metropolitan locations. Originality/value – The study contributes to the literature by examining the impact of DMC on performance of FOA by considering the organised manufacturing sector in a large and fast growing developing economy. In addition, the results for the moderating effects provide novel evidence of the conditions under which DMC of FOA interacts with different ownership modes and influence firm performance.

Diese Dissertation stellt empirische Evidenz zu den Fragen der Verguetung von Fuehrungskraeften. Analyse der Daten der US-Firmen auflistet, finde ich eine umgekehrte U-foermige Beziehung zwischen Management Ownership und Unternehmensperformance, aber diese Beziehung verschwindet, wenn Unternehmensperformance von den letzten Jahr kontrolliert wird. Ich finde auch, dass die Executive Option Awards positiv auf Unternehmensperformance bezogen, während Executive Stock Awards hat keinen statistischen signifikanten Einfluss auf den Unternehmensperformance. Statistische Evidenz zeigt auch, dass die Struktur der Verguetung von Fuehrungskraeften Vertraege zu Unternehmen Eigenschaften und Executive persoenlichen Merkmalen zusammenhaengt. / This dissertation provides empirical evidence on the issues of executive compensation. Analyzing data of U.S. listing firms, I find an inverted U-shaped relation between managerial ownership and firm performance, but this relation vanishes when firm performance from last period is controlled. I also find that executive option awards is positively related to firm performance, while executive stock awards has no statistically significant impact on firm performance. Evidence also indicates that the structure of executive compensation contracts is related with observable and unobservable firm attributes and executive personal characteristics.

儘管很多文獻探討了高層管理團隊多元化與企業績效之間的關係，但所得結果卻不一致。我們將高層管理團隊多元化分為分離型、多樣型以及不平等型三類，以中國194家家族企業為研究樣本，分別討論不同類型多元化對家族企業績效的影響。具體來說，年齡分離型多元化對企業績效沒有顯著影響，但基於社會網絡理論分析后卻發現績效與教育背景分類型呈現先低後高的U型關係；性別以及職能背景多樣型多元化對企業績效均沒有顯著影響；由於社會比較的存在以及錦標賽理論的負面效應，薪酬不平等型多元化對企業績效有負向影響，但股權不平等型多元化卻有利於績效的提升，因為股權集中於家族手中益於家族企業目標的實現，加強家族成員對企業的認同感，並減少代理成本，避免權力衝突。我們基於不同的理論，檢驗了在中國文化背景下不同種類的多元化與企業績效之間的關係。我們在考察了中國情境下的管理理論運用的同時，也發現多元化本身帶有「雙面刃」的性質，需要區別對待不同多元化指標對企業績效的作用。 / Despite a lot of literature examining the relationship between the top management team diversity and firm performance, the evidence is mixed. To reconcile the conflicting results, we divide the TMT diversity into separation, variety and disparity to discuss the relationship between them and the family firm performance in China. Results from a sample of 194 Chinese family firms indicate that there is no relationship between age separation, gender variety, functional variety and firm performance. Based on the social network theory, the relationship between educational separation and firm performance is U-shaped. In addition, considering social comparison theory and the negative impacts of tournament theory, we find that salary disparity is negatively related to company performance. However, family firm performance benefits from share disparity because the concentration on the equity allows the family to achieve the family’s goal and reduce agency cost, finally contributes to enhancing the family members’ identity and avoiding the power conflicts within the organization. Base on different theories, we examine the relationship between different aspects of diversity and family firm performance under Chinese culture background, and also find the “double-edged sword” of diversity.

長久以來，國際化議題一直是實務界與學術界關心的重要焦點，對於小型開放經濟體的台灣而言，企業走向「國際化」更是必然的趨勢。國際化是否能為廠商帶來利潤？大部份的研究發現國際化確實有助於企業獲利的提昇，但亦有學者認為國際化為廠商所帶來的正面利益實屬有限，真正有助於提昇廠商績效的因素為廠商的「產品差異化能力」，甚至有學者更強烈地指出國際化與廠商績效的關係並不顯著，廠商本身所擁有的產品差異化能力才是最重要的獲利來源。 然而，相較於歐美大型多國企業，台灣企業規模相對較小，除國際化外，台灣企業擁有那些產品差異化能力可以提昇廠商的績效呢？雖然各方學者所持觀點不一，但其研究的範圍皆以西方已開發國家為關注焦點，顯少針對開發中國家加以研究。此不禁令人產生一些疑問：國際化是否也能為新興工業化國家的台灣企業帶來較佳的績效呢？若國際化不意謂著較佳的績效，那如此高度依賴海外市場的台灣企業該如何是好呢？ 此外，「管理能力」在廠商國際化的過程中所扮演的角色在過去研究中並未受到重視。然而，國際化程度的提高，並非對所有廠商在績效上皆能有正面的提昇，廠商必須在海外市場擴張的過程中，隨時調整其管理能力才得以能夠維持優良的廠商績效，此議題的瞭解，有助於對過去實證結果的分歧做更進一步的解釋。 針對上述研究問題，本研究回顧國際化程度、產品差異化能力，以及管理能力相關文獻，經由相關理論之推導，形成三個主要的研究命題，透過以台灣製造廠商為研究對象，同時以量化及質化的研究設計加以探討。 命題一與命題二分別以第三章564家大型製造廠商、第四章170公開上市資訊電子業、第五章3,194家中小型製造廠商、第六章601家中小型紡織業及818家中小型電子業，以及第七章1986年、1991年與1996年三期之大型 (275家，825個樣本) 及中小型 (322家，966個樣本) 製造廠商之長期追蹤資料加以驗證。經由不同廠商規模與產業，以及橫斷面與縱斷面的資料分析，得到國際化程度對廠商績效為一倒U型關係、產品差異化能力 (研發密集度) 對廠商績效為一正向的影響，亦即在研究一 (第三章) 至研究五 (第七章) 的結論發現，國際化程度與廠商績效的倒U型關係皆獲得支持，惟不同的樣本中，國際化程度與績效的最適點不同；產品差異化能力的部份僅於研發密集度與廠商績效的正向關係獲得支持，故支持本研究所提出之前兩項研究命題。 本研究根據量化研究倒U型之結果，分別在研究六 (第八章) 以一家非上市 (櫃) 小型手工具製造業、一家中型上櫃紡織業，以及一家大型上市電子業為研究對象，分析管理能力對國際化與廠商績效關係之影響，經由三家個案廠商的分析，亦傾向於支持管理能力對台灣製造廠商之國際化程度與績效的關係有一正向的調節效果。亦即廠商的管理能力可以調節 (moderate) 國際化與廠商績效的關係，在面對海外市場擴張所面臨的複雜度增加，廠商若能適時調整其管理能力，即使處於高度國際化的狀況，亦能保有優良的廠商績效；反之，若廠商之國際化程度仍未達國際化之最適點，但其管理能力始終沒有在海外市場擴張的過程中做適時的調整，亦有可能產生績效不佳的狀況。因此，支持本研究所提出的第三個研究命題。 整體而言，本論文於第三章至第七章量化研究獲得國際化程度與產品差異化能力對廠商績效一致的結果；透過第八章的質化研究，亦達成管理能力於國際化與廠商績效間關係的釐清。因此本論文的完成亦讓研究者對於台灣企業的國際化程度、產品差異化能力及管理能力，在影響廠商績效的議題上有更豐富的認識與瞭解。 / Internationalization has been the focus to the business and academic communities for years. Actively entering foreign markets for most firms in Taiwan, a small-opened economy, has become a must in the globalized economy. Does internationalization bring better performance for business? Most empirical studies found that internationalization increases firms’ benefits; however, some researchers argued that there are limited the benefits associated with firms’ internationalization. Furthermore, it has been suggested that there’s no significant relationship between internationalization and firm’s performance. That seemed a tendency for researchers to argue that “capability for product differentiation” is the key to profitability. Comparing with multinational corporations (MNCs) from western developed countries, the sizes of Taiwanese firms are much smaller. What kind of capabilities for product differentiation, in addition to the internationalization, could contribute to their performance? So far researchers have different views. On top of that, when excusing the issue, most studies still focused on firms, mostly MNCs, from the developed countries, few has looked into the behaviors of firms from developing countries. This study bridges this gap and proposes the following research questions: (1) Does internationalization affect performance firms from newly industrialized economies, such as Taiwan? (2) Besides internationalization, what characteristics of firms in Taiwan contribute to their performance? Managerial capability truly plays an important role in firms’ internationalization process; however, previous studies did not pay much attention on this construct. Also, higher levels of internationalization does not necessary bring positive impact on firms’ performance. To maintain better performance, firms need to adjust as well as adapt their managerial capabilities during their foreign market expansion process. Understanding the relationship between managerial capability and international expansion helps us to shed new light on the inconsistency findings of past empirical studies. Thus, the third research question tries to understand the moderating role of managerial capability on the relationship between internationalization and firms’ performance. The study reviews related literatures on internationalization, capability for product differentiation, and managerial capability in terms of above mentioned research questions. After deriving three main research propositions, this study employs both quantitative and qualitative research designs to answer the research questions by taking Taiwanese manufacture firms as research samples. For the purpose of triangulation, this study examines propositions 1 and 2 by different sample profiles including cross-sectional and longitudinal data. They are: (1) 564 large manufacture firms (chapter 3); (2) 170 Taiwan Stock Exchange Market listed electronics firms (chapter 4); (3) 3,194 small and medium-sized enterprises (chapter 5); (4) 601 small and medium-sized textile firms and 818 small and medium-sized electronics firms (chapter 6), and (5) 275 (825 observations) large and 322 (966 observations) small and medium-sized firms for three periods (i.e., 1986, 1991, and 1996) (chapter 7). The first two main findings are: (1) the relationship between internationalization and performance could be graphically depicted as an inverted U-shaped curve, and (2) a positive relationship between capability for product differentiation in terms of R&D intensity and performance regardless of firm size and industry. Thus, our findings support the first two propositions. According to the U-shaped result of quantitative analysis, this study explores the relationship among managerial capability, internationalization, and performance by conducting three in-depth company interviews. The firms, including an unlisted hand tool firm, a medium-sized OTC textile firm, and one large listed electronics firm, represent a mix of companies. The third main findings tend to support that managerial capability has a positive moderating effect between internationalization and performance. If firms could adapt or adjust their managerial capabilities to handle the complexity during their foreign market expansion process at the right timing, they could still enjoy better performance with higher levels of internationalization. On the contrary, the complexity associated with high-level of internationalization will burn out the managers and eventually lead to poor performance. Thus, the result supports the third proposition. In summary, on the one hand, the study confirms the relationship among internationalization, capability for product differentiation, and firm’s performance through quantitative analyses in chapters 3 to 7. This study also identifies the moderating effect of managerial capability on the relationship between internationalization and firm’s performance through a qualitative analysis in chapter 8. Theoretically speaking, this dissertation provides better understanding on the relationship among internationalization, capability for product differentiation, managerial capability, and performance of Taiwanese firms.

在全球化市場的激烈競爭環境中，資訊科技對企業而言已是一種提升競爭優勢的策略性設備，而先前文獻對於資訊科技能力的評估或與企業績效關聯性的探討，多以行為性問卷的認知數據量表進行研究，少有利用事實性問卷所收集的現象數據評估資訊科技能力及進一步分析資訊科技能力與企業績效關聯性之研究。故本研究基於資源基礎觀點理論，利用企業事實性現象填答問卷建立企業資訊科技能力評估模型，包含資訊科技的導入狀態、應用方式及使用經驗等現象相關問項，如硬體、網路、資訊系統應用程度及範圍等，並探討資訊科技能力與企業績效的關聯性。使用典型相關分析進行實證研究發現，針對先前政府委託調查所收集資料計算出來的企業資訊科技能力，與公開發行的上市櫃企業財務資料所計算出來的企業績效具有顯著關聯性，特別是會計型財務績效之經營能力，經檢定具統計顯著性。進一步進行產業別比較，先使用灰色熵權重分析對於各個子構面進行權重估計，並以權重加權法重新計算每一樣本之資訊科技能力，再進行單因子變異數分析，顯示各產業間之資訊科技能力及子構面能力多數呈現顯著差異。本研究所提出的資訊科技能力評估模型與企業績效關聯檢定模式，以及產業間資訊科技能力差異性分析模式，可提供政府或產業觀察機構建立長期觀測平台，以彙整各種產業資訊科技導入現象及應用範圍，使政府與企業可檢視整體產業整體或個別產業資訊科技能力之差異，藉以擬定資訊科技投資策略，提升企業競爭優勢。 / In the highly competitive globalization environment, information technology (IT) has become strategic equipment for leveraging a business’s competitive advantage. Most previous studies use perceptual questionnaire to collect behavioral data for evaluating IT capability, and furthermore to explore the relationship between IT capability and firm performance. Very few studies use factual questionnaire to collect the phenomenon data for analysis. In this study, we propose a model of evaluating IT capability based on Resource-Based View (RBV) theory and use factual phenomenon questionnaire including induction status, application approach, and usage experience, such as hardware, networks, IS application levels and scopes, etc. The research also explores the relationship between IT capability and firm performance. The IT capability data are calculated from the earlier government-sponsored survey. The firm performance data by financial indicators are collected or calculated from the open data of listed companies in Taiwan Stock Exchange and Over-the-Counter Agencies. The Canonical Correlation Analysis is used and shows significantly positive relationship for the IT capability affecting the firm performance, especially in Accounting-Based Financial Indicators. Before further analysis of industry comparison, Grey Entropy is used to estimate the weights of three sub-constructs and the overall IT capability is then re-calculated by integrating the weighted sub-construct capabilities. Afterwards, the One-Way ANOVA analysis is conducted and shows significant differences across industries in the overall IT capability of the firm and the IT capabilities of the sub-constructs. The proposed IT capability estimation model and the relationship analysis for the IT capability and firm performance can be used by the government or industry observation institution to continuously watch the industry IT capability phenomena and its relationship with the firm performance. The observation for the whole country and across industries can be used as a reference to pursue appropriate IT investments for strategic advantage.

過去許多國內外的研究顯示，由創業者所經營之家族企業公司績效表現與投資決策優於由接班者所經營之家族企業和非家族企業。然而，台灣過去卻鮮少有文獻探討創業者與接班者在投資決策上的主要差異，以及是否在特定的公司治理特性下可以協助創業者和接班者做決策，進一步增加公司價值。 本研究主要以2010年至2014年間台灣上市櫃家族企業作為樣本，並將樣本分為由創業者所經營之家族企業與接班者所經營之家族企業，探討由創業者經營之家族企業與接班者所控制之經營企業在併購決策上是否有所不同，在何種公司治理特性或是公司特色可使併購宣告效果增加。本研究以兩階段迴歸和事件研究法作為研究方法，第一部分分析創業者與接班者在公司經營績效上之差異，第二部分分析創業者與接班者在併購宣告效果上的差異，最後進一步分析，何種公司治理特性或是公司特色可使併購宣告之累積異常報酬增加。實證結果顯示，創業者所經營之公司經營績效較佳，且由創業者所作之併購決策，能夠顯著提升併購宣告之累積異常報酬。此外，本研究發現外部董事比例越高，對於投資人預期之累積異常報酬顯著負向效果;然而外部股東持股對於併購宣告之累積異常報酬則有正向之加強效果。 / Past studies indicate that founder-family firms exhibit better firm performance and investment decisions than successor-family firms and non-family firms. However, little research has examined the difference in investment decisions across generations (founders and successors) in Taiwan. Moreover, it is unclear whether there exist some specific firm characteristics or corporate governance structure arrangements that can improve the decision-making of corporate investment to enhance firm value. This study employs the family firms and M&A data during the period of 2010 to 2014 in Taiwan to examine whether M&A decisions differ across family generations in Taiwan. Through the two-stage least squares regression analysis and the event study analysis, we find that the founder-family firms have better firm performance than successor-family firms. The founder-family firms also earn higher acquisition announcement returns than successor-family firms. Besides, we show that the percentage of outside directors has a negative effect on the acquisition announcement returns while the largest outside ownership is positively correlated with the acquisition announcement returns.

Cette thèse met en exergue des recommandations sur le rôle des politiques de gouvernance, structurelles et fiscales pour atteindre une croissance pro-pauvre et inclusive. Le premier chapitre qui est introductif, présente le contexte de la thèse et discute brièvement les principaux problèmes de données ainsi que les faits stylisés sur l’inégalité et la pauvreté. Le deuxième chapitre analyse les effets de la bonne gouvernance sur la croissance pro-pauvre et inclusive au niveau macroéconomique. Il montre que tous les indicateurs de la gouvernance impactent positivement la croissance des revenus et la réduction de la pauvreté tandis que seuls deux indicateurs : l’efficacité du gouvernement et la règle de droit favorisent une croissance inclusive. Le troisième chapitre analyse comment les gouvernements peuvent réduire les inégalités de revenu en ajustant la composition des dépenses publiques tout en gardant le niveau total inchangé. Les résultats montrent que réallouer les dépenses de défense vers les dépenses d’éducation et de santé et en particulier les dépenses sociales et d’infrastructure, est associé à une réduction des inégalités dans les pays avec une stabilité politique. Le quatrième chapitre fournit une perspective micro-économique, en étudiant comment une meilleure performance des firmes dans le secteur informel peut promouvoir la prospérité partagée dans un contexte de fragilité. Ce chapitre montre que la performance des firmes est un facteur clé expliquant les différences de revenus entre les entrepreneurs. En outre, les résultats montrent que le capital humain et les compétences managériales sont des déterminants importants de la performance des firmes informelles. / This dissertation provides some evidence-based policy lessons focusing on the role of institutional, structural, and fiscal policies in achieving pro-poor and inclusive growth. The first chapter gives an overview of the dissertation and briefly discusses the main data issues and some stylized facts on inequality and poverty. The second chapter examines the role of good governance in fostering pro-poor and inclusive growth at the macroeconomic level. It shows that while all features of good governance enhance pro-poor growth, only government effectiveness and the rule of law tend to promote inclusive growth. The third chapter provides a cross-country analysis investigating how governments can reduce income inequality by changing the composition of public spending while keeping the total level fixed. The results show that reallocating defense spending towards education, and health spending and in particular social and infrastructure spending, is associated with reduced income inequality in countries with political stability. The fourth chapter provides a microeconomic perspective, focusing on how better performance of informal firms could promote shared prosperity in a context of fragility. It shows that firms’ performance is a key factor in explaining income differences between entrepreneurs. In addition, the chapter finds that human capital and managerial skills are important engines of informal firms’ performance.

In order to assess the continuing imbalance of top executives between genders, I examine the effects of gender diversity within top management teams on firm risk, performance, and executive compensation. Capitalizing on previous analysis, I apply three unique differentiators. First, I utilize current data from 2012 to 2017 from Compustat, CRSP, and ExecuComp. Second, I provide a unique subset view on a firm and individual performance of female CEOs to examine executive compensation. Third, my scope of analysis expands to S&P Composite 1500 companies. I use separate models to estimate the effect of gender diversity on firm risk by examining a firm’s beta and standard deviation of daily returns, on firm performance by examining a firm’s Tobin’sQ, and lastly on executive compensation by examining an executive’s natural logarithm of total compensation. My findings suggest gender diversity among executives appears to have an immaterial effect on a firm’s risk and performance. In turn, I also find that female executives continue to receive less compensation than their male colleagues. However, I find an average female CEO receives a higher level of compensation than an average male CEO. Lastly, I find as gender diversity increases among executives, specifically CEOs, the compensation differences between genders decreases.

Le Chapitre 1 propose un survol de la littérature consacrée à l'éco-innovation. A la lumière des travaux passés en revue, l'éco-innovation n’est pas encore un concept bien stabilisé : sa définition même continue d'évoluer, appelant des corrections et des précisions. Ce chapitre accorde une attention particulière au rôle de la règlementation, qui est souvent présentée dans la littérature comme un déterminant essentiel de l'éco-innovation, notamment quand l'innovation concerne un procédé de fabrication. Une controverse demeure à ce propos, en particulier quand la règlementation repose sur des normes environnementales peu contraignantes, voire facultatives (telle la norme ISO 14001). Le processus de diffusion de l'éco-innovation est un autre objet de controverse dans la littérature.[...]. Le Chapitre 2 va donc s'intéresser au premier point de controverse, à savoir le rôle des règlementations environnementales ayant une dimension facultative, comme les normes de type ISO 14001. A l'aide d'une analyse par appariement sur les scores de propension, nous examinons l'effet de l'adoption de normes de type ISO 140001 sur la performance des entreprises (mesurée à partir de la Valeur Ajoutée).[...] Le Chapitre 3 s'intéresse à savoir le processus de diffusion de l'éco-innovation. En raison des contraintes posées par les données disponibles, cette investigation se fait du point de vue des barrières à, et des déterminants de, l'innovation environnementale.[...] Le Chapitre 4 exploitant les données des Enquêtes Communautaires sur l'Innovation de 2008 (CIS 2008), qui contiennent un module spécifiquement dédié à l’éco-innovation. Ainsi, à la différence du chapitre 3, nous établissons – à l'aide du module spécifique de l'enquête – une typologie originale permettant de distinguer, parmi les entreprises éco-innovantes: (1) les entreprises adoptant une éco-innovation de manière passive, (2) les entreprises adoptant tardivement une éco-innovation de manière stratégique, (3) les entreprises adoptant précocement une éco-innovation de manière stratégique, (4) les éco-innovateurs stratégiques tardifs et (5) les éco-innovateurs stratégiques précoces.[...] / Environmental innovation or eco-innovation is considered one of the most significant paradigm shifts in the innovation behaviour. The specificity of eco innovation lies in the fact that environmental improvement, in addition to technological advancement, is the main reason of its development. By combining these two objectives, eco-innovation has become one of primary tools in the search to solve the world’s environmental problems and sustainability challenges. Despite its prevalence, there is still more to be discovered within the eco-innovation literature. The drivers of and barriers to eco-innovation discussion is one of the most significant amongst all. More notably, the role of a firm’s social, technological, economic and organizational characteristics within the eco-innovation process has been little studied. With this Ph.D. thesis we aim to fill the existing gap with four distinct research articles. [...] Chapter 2 investigates, firstly, whether firms’ internal characteristics have an impact on the adoption of voluntary environmental standards. Secondly, the causal effect of adoption of environmental standards on the firms performance. Based on the empirical evidence obtained, we show that medium-size, high-tech manufacturing firms operating at the EU level and using quality standards are more likely to adopt these standards earlier. [...] In Chapter 3, we stressed the significance of a firm’s structural characteristics in another context and aimed at investigating the role these characteristics play in realization of product and/or process eco-innovation. [...] In Chapter 4 we moved forward the analyses conducted in Chapter 3 to another context and examined the influence of firm’s economic, technological, organisational capabilities on the eco-innovation behaviour for different types of product, process, organisational or marketing eco-innovators. The results of our empirical analyses point out the marginal impacts of firm’s characteristics changes with respect to type of eco-innovator. [...]