Value chain systemicity: Promoting organizational creativity and environmental sustainability in low velocity industries

The degradation of the natural environment introduces a unique problem as it influences each individual stage in a product value chain and this poses a significant threat to low velocity industries. Systemic innovations produce complementary innovations in multiple areas of the value chain and large scale change is delivered through the cumulative effect of these complementary innovations. The change produced is similar in magnitude to radical innovations, yet the resultant change is not radical as it enhances the capabilities of incumbent firms. Systemic innovations are not driven by technological change; instead they leverage knowledge of value chain interdependencies to reconfigure the existing product system in a more efficient manner. In this article, a framework is developed which shows how resources and capabilities can be reconfigured to implement systemic innovations in low velocity industries with the aim of reducing environmental impact. This article also adds to the empirical research on product stewardship which has been largely overlooked by past research. It provides firms in low velocity industries with a roadmap for adapting to changes induced by the degradation of the natural environment. Firms should target innovations that have high systemicity as this maximizes the cumulative effect of the resultant complementary innovations.