Sustainability and sustainable development strategies in the U.K. plastic electronics industry

Abstract

The growing plastic electronics industry constitutes an important arena for addressing sustainability challenges. This study integrates literature related to eco‐innovations and ecocentric business strategies to investigate its ability to adopt a sustainable development strategy on the basis of ecological sustainability. An exploratory qualitative study in the U.K. market reveals the need for both technological‐push and market‐pull factors to guide technological development. Awareness of sustainable development and the potential to support it are high, but actors in this sector do not prioritize these concerns. Efforts to increase commitment to sustainable development must address three distinctive groups: innovative developers, supplier/manufacturers, and industry facilitators. Articulating the importance of sustainable development might create incentives and generate market pull. The industry also has potential to support sustainable development, which then can support industry development. This article thus offers theoretical insights for ecocentric eco‐innovations, ecocentric business strategy, and ecocentric visionary leadership, along with managerial, industry, and policy implications.