Driving organizational sustainability-oriented innovation capabilities: a complex adaptive systems perspective

Innovation capabilities are considered a crucial ingredient for organizations in order to drive sustainable organizational transformations in turbulent business environments. The impact of information technology (IT) as a force of sustainability and innovation received a renewed interest as a means of achieving boundary-spanning arrangements. This interplay between the changing competitive landscape, collaboration forms with partners, and IT as a facilitator, are considered the cornerstones of sustainability in organizations. The aim of this study is to understand how IT flexibility, partner collaborations, and environmental business factors lead to enhanced sustainability-oriented innovation capabilities. Outcomes suggest that IT should be approached as an adaptive vehicle in the process of creating social and economic value to relevant stakeholders in the business ecosystem.