An FsQCA exploration of multiple paths to ecological innovation adoption in European transportation

Companies in the transportation and logistics business are key contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, their fleet choices are viewed as critical in climate change mitigation efforts. This study adopts a configuration theory approach to explore how drivers at multiple levels (i.e., country, locale, company, and field units) interact to shape the fleet decisions in one of Europe's leading third-party logistics providers operating a large, multi-country, road transportation network. Using fuzzy set/qualitative comparative analysis methodology, we identify and describe five distinct paths leading to high levels of adoption of ecological innovation and two paths to low adoption levels. Building on the findings, we develop a set of propositions that can help guide future research.