01478nas a2200109   4500008004100000245004600041210004600087260001200133520113200145100002201277856006901299       2014                        eng d00aEconomic Growth and Normative Innovations0 aEconomic Growth and Normative Innovations  aLeipzig3 aIn the prevalent view competition in saturated markets leads to a race-to-the-bottom, i.e. to a social, sociopolitical and ecological deregulation since competitive advantages are only viable by cost reductions due to the depletion of standards. In the present research project a contrary position is theoretically claimed and empirically tested. The main proposition is that low growth rates due to exhausted technical innovations produce normative innovations (self-reglation). Normative is to be called every instrumentally irrational innovation, which abstains from specific technical rational means and substitutes them with ambitious and normative appropriate means based on social, ethical, ecological or religious reasons. However, before normative innovations can be a sales pitch technical improvements and economies of scale have to be maxed out, hence a producer can risk to introduce new quality features if there is no chance to be undercutted by already established quality features. In a consumer's view high prices for normative features can be justifiable if the technical maximum standard is already reached.1 aStachura, Mateusz  uhttps://degrowth.community/conference2014/scientific-papers/3341