Does eco‐innovation drive sales and technology investment? Focusing on eco‐label in Korea

As environmental problems worsen, eco‐innovation research has received increased attention. Korea is implementing an eco‐label policy to induce eco‐innovation. Eco‐labeling is a type of voluntary eco‐innovation. There are few empirical studies on the economic performance of eco‐labels in Korea and even fewer on the additional investment in the technology used for eco‐labeling. The present study quantitatively measured the effect of eco‐labels on additionally generated sales and research and development (R&D) investment through propensity score matching. The results revealed that eco‐labeling has a positive impact on sales over the following 2 years, which is the expiration date of certification; moreover, investment in R&D typically increased for 3 years before certification. Interestingly, no additional R&D investment was made after certification. This study is mainly a basis for the introduction of environmental certification to government policymakers or product strategists who have yet to implement a certification system.