Providing a Framework for Sustainable Innovation in the Packaging Industry (Case Study: Yazd Packaging Industries)

Today, sustainable development is one of the areas that business managers pay attention to in order to achieve long-term success and development. One of the areas of sustainability that has received little attention, especially in Iran, and there is limited knowledge about it, is the issue of sustainable innovation, which can create valuable results. Therefore, the aim of this research is to identify the dimensions and components of sustainable innovation in the packaging industry and provide a framework in this field. This research is descriptive-survey in terms of applied purpose and in terms of data collection method. At the beginning of the research, the theoretical foundations and previous research in the field of the research topic were examined. Based on the findings, 26 components of sustainable innovation were identified in the form of 6 dimensions. The identified dimensions include product innovation, environmental, production, organizational, managerial and social. In the next step, the fuzzy Delphi method was used to localize the identified components in the packaging industry. For this purpose, a panel of 13 experts was formed and they were asked to rate the identified factors based on a five-point Likert scale. After two rounds of the fuzzy Delphi process, 25 factors were finalized. In the next step, by using the TOPSIS fuzzy method and asking the opinion of 28 managers and specialists of Yazd packaging industries, priority was given to the components of sustainable innovation. Based on the findings, the three components of improving the quality of the final product, improving the production technology and improving the technical characteristics of the product have the highest priority. Finally, the research results showed that sustainable innovation in the packaging industry is a multidimensional phenomenon with valuable results.