Inovação no desenvolvimento de produtos “verdes”: integrando competências ao longo da cadeia produtiva

This paper considers product differentiation strategies in which businesses aim to develop innovations with reduced environmental impact throughout the life-cycle, which assumes the involvement of the production chain. It highlights the strategies employed by a producer of PET resin, to launch onto the Brazilian market a fiber manufactured from recycled plastic, called Alya Eco. A case study was performed with the collection of secondary data, analysis of documents and conducting semi-structured interviews. It was possible to reveal the complexities of integrating “green” capabilities into product development. Environmental businesses must deal with relations that are marked by intense social pressure and legal intricacies, as well as the presence of multiple stakeholders with diverse motivations, conceptions and managerial capacities to deal with the environmental issues. The incorporation of the environmental dimension into the product strategy implied a change in the conventional concept of its supply chain towards the adoption of a closed-loop supply chain. This means that the success of Project Alya ECO depended not only on the capability of executives to manage environmental innovation strategies, but also on their ability to integrate the activities of other partners into the production chain. This paper attempts to advance our understanding of the managerial, technical and operational issues facing the integration of innovation development strategies for “green” products along the supply chain.