The influence of perceived uncertainty on entrepreneurial action in emerging renewable energy technology; biomass gasification projects in the Netherlands

Emerging renewable energy technologies cannot break through without the involvement of entrepreneurs who dare to take action amidst uncertainty. The uncertainties that the entrepreneurs involved perceive will greatly affect their innovation decisions and can prevent them from engaging in innovation...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energy policy 2007-11, Vol.35 (11), p.5836-5854
Main Authors: Meijer, Ineke S.M., Hekkert, Marko P., Koppenjan, Joop F.M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Biomass
Biomass energy
Economic data
Emerging technology
Energy
Energy economics
Entrepreneurial action
Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship
Exact sciences and technology
General, economic and professional studies
Innovation
Natural energy
Natural gas
Netherlands
Perceived uncertainty
Renewable energy sources
Research and development
Sustainability
Technological change
Technological innovations
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Summary:Emerging renewable energy technologies cannot break through without the involvement of entrepreneurs who dare to take action amidst uncertainty. The uncertainties that the entrepreneurs involved perceive will greatly affect their innovation decisions and can prevent them from engaging in innovation projects aimed at developing and implementing emerging renewable energy technologies. This article analyzes how perceived uncertainties and motivation influence an entrepreneur's decision to act, using empirical data on biomass gasification projects in the Netherlands. Our empirical results show that technological, political and resource uncertainty are the most dominant sources of perceived uncertainty influencing entrepreneurial decision-making. By performing a dynamic analysis, we furthermore demonstrate that perceived uncertainties and motivation are not stable, but evolve over time. We identify critical factors in the project's internal and external environment which influence these changes in perceived uncertainties and motivation, and describe how various interactions between the different variables in the conceptual model (internal and external factors, perceived uncertainty, motivation and previous actions of the entrepreneurs) positively or negatively influence the decision of entrepreneurs to continue entrepreneurial action. We discuss how policymakers can use these insights for stimulating the development and diffusion of emerging renewable energy technologies.
ISSN:0301-4215
1873-6777
DOI:10.1016/j.enpol.2007.07.009