The study by the University of Münster shows that digital partnerships not only enable efficiency gains, but also significantly promote green innovation and a sustainable corporate culture. Less digitized companies and start-ups in particular benefit from access to technology and expertise, with digitization and sustainability working together as drivers of economic and social transformation.
Digital partnerships can play a decisive role in helping companies become more sustainable. A new study by the University of Münster shows that strategic collaborations in the digital sector drive green innovation, promote a sustainable corporate culture, and open up disproportionate opportunities, especially for less digitized industries.
“Our findings illustrate that digital alliances not only bring technological efficiency gains, but also go hand in hand with green innovations – from energy savings to sustainable product developments,” explains Prof. Dr. David Bendig, Director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship at the University of Münster and Chairman of REACH Science. “What is particularly exciting is that even companies without large IT departments can gain access to state-of-the-art technology and know-how through cooperation. This makes sustainability more widely accessible – even for start-ups.”
The researchers also show that digital alliances not only change products, but also companies themselves: through green innovations, employees develop new patterns of thinking and acting, creating a sustainable corporate culture.
“This opens up a great opportunity, especially for start-ups,” adds Prof. Dr. Johann Nils Foege, co-author of the study and professor of innovation, strategy, and organization at the University of Münster. “They often bring the agility and innovative strength that can generate the greatest added value in cooperation with established companies. Such partnerships create not only ecological but also economic advantages.”
The research team was completed by Dr. Thomas Schäper and Dr. Manfred Strehlow, also from the Institute for Entrepreneurship. Dr. Thomas Schäper himself successfully participated in the first REACH Incubator Batch with his company Pivoty, founded in 2021, and was later able to sell his start-up: “Even when we were starting up, we saw the relevance of alliances with external partners for successful digitalization. Now we have scientific evidence for this ‘gut feeling.”
The results have now been published in the European Journal of Information Systems (VHB-JOURQUAL3: A). The study thus impressively demonstrates how the two central focuses of the REACH ecosystem – digitalization and sustainability – can work together to advance the transformation of the economy and society.
To the original publication:
Bendig, D., Schäper, T., Strehlow, M., & Foege, J. N. (2025). Leveraging digital alliances for green innovations: a pathway to becoming green. European Journal of Information Systems. https://doi.org/10.1080/0960085X.2025.2522799
Contact for inquiries:
Prof. Dr. David Bendig
Universität Münster
Institut für Entrepreneurship
Leonardo-Campus 9, 48149 Münster
E-Mail: dbendig@uni-muenster.de