Sustainability-oriented innovations: Can mindfulness make a difference?

The concepts of sustainability and innovation represent a. fundamental conflict of objectives. This fact may help explain why the management literature has been ambiguous in its approach to sustainability-oriented innovation. The main purpose of this article is to develop an analytical framework to further study the influence of mindfulness. Mindfulness can support the development of the cognitive abilities, attitudes and behaviors of individuals who work within organizations. It can help them identify and utilize creative solutions that can lead to sustainability-oriented innovation. This paper presents a theoretical study that has been designed to support future research in sustainability-oriented innovation in the organizational context. A systematic literature review provides empirical evidence that mindfulness training can promote changes in individual cognition mechanisms that favor creativity and ecological concerns. As an isolated training technique, mindfulness can be used as a tool to reduce the stress that is caused by efficiency-driven business models. To help influence management actions in favor of sustainability-oriented innovation, this paper offers a research agenda that combines the following five fields of study: sufficiency-driven business models, inclusive capitalism, sustainability-oriented innovation capability, mindfulness in organizations and interdisciplinary and qualitative mindfulness. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.