New Facets of Quality. A Multiple Case Study of Green Cosmetic Manufacturers

Despite the recent concern about social, environmental and economic perspectives of sustainability, the issue is relatively under-researched and very little is known about the drivers of sustainability. There is no doubt that innovation is one of those drivers. The aim of the present article is to analyse the technological (product and process) and non-technological (marketing and organisational) innovation, R&D strategy, marketing and competitiveness position of the chemical companies that are engaged in the manufacture of green, natural or conventional cosmetics with the ultimate aim of achieving high quality products and business excellence. The study reported here is qualitative in approach and uses empirical evidence from six case studies representing companies located in Catalonia, Spain, one of the main cosmetic producers of Europe. The results are discussed in the light of structural and managerial perspectives with the aim of drawing implications for both practitioners and policy-makers.