This study explores how sustainability outcomes of an eco-innovation evolves within a network context. It focuses how and why the outcome of an eco-innovation differ depending on the network foci, i.e., whether it is, as most studies, the dyad (e.g., supplier-customer) or if it is beyond the dyad (in this study, a triadic setting). The study is based on theories on business networks where the unit of analysis is a dyad and a triad. The purpose of the study is to explore how to assess sustainability outcomes of eco-innovations from different network perspectives, juxtaposing dyadic and triadic perspectives.
The paper presents a model that provides an empirical contextualization illustrating actor perceptions regarding sustainability outcomes of the same sustainability initiative (an eco-innovation focused on energy efficiency in offices) is contingent upon the unit of analysis. The model presented in this paper functions as a strategic instrument for companies, offering insights into various conditions and helping them grasp how sustainability outcomes differ based on individual, dyadic, and triadic viewpoints. It offers a framework to understand why effects may diminish with increased interconnectedness and why technology alone may fall short. The results suggest that the outcome might get negatively affected when the number of involved actors grows (in this study; expands to a triad). The results offer implications for future studies of eco-innovations, and it echoes the need to expand the study perspective in business networks beyond the dyad when addressing sustainability challenges.