Final answer:
Innovation is the process of improving products or systems to produce them more cheaply or with desired characteristics, finding ways to both increase profits and reduce costs. Firms benefit from a temporary competitive advantage, while also possibly reducing pollution where cost-effective.
Step-by-step explanation:
Innovative ways to do a job with less effort and at lower cost is at the root of the innovation process, which aims to modify existing products, systems, or processes to improve them. Profits can be maximized by finding ways to produce products more cheaply or to create products with characteristics consumers desire. When companies like Technotron invent new technologies that increase output and quality while reducing costs, they gain not only a competitive edge but also the potential for above-normal profits.
This edge persists until competitors can catch up. Furthermore, innovation is not only about profits but also about reductions of pollution; firms are more likely to implement eco-friendly practices where it is cheap and efficient to do so, thereby contributing to sustainable growth.