energy market liberalization and renewable energy policies in oecd countries abstract this paper investigates the effect of energy liberalization compared to other drivers on policies that support renewable energy in a long panel of oecd countries we estimate this effect by accounting for the endogeneity of liberalization related to joint decisions within a country s energy strategy using regulation in other industries as instruments we find that energy liberalization increases public support for renewable energy the effect of liberalization is the second largest after the effect of per capita income and is mostly driven by reductions in entry barriers while the effect of privatization is unclear this finding suggests that a reduction in the monopolistic power of state owned utilities has a positive effect on renewable energy policies when various types of actors are ensured access to the grid instead of it being provided to only a few large private firms

energy transitions in small scale regions what we can learn from a regional innovation systems perspective the prevalent theories in the debate on sustainability transitions have been criticised for not sufficiently addressing energy change processes at the local level this paper aims to enhance our understanding of local energy reorganisation processes drawing on the regional innovation systems ris approach we argue that local development dynamics result from the interaction of various subsystems science politics public administration industry finance intermediaries and civil society the analysis of the involved subsystems and their interaction shows how energy transitions are shaped by different individual and organisational actors as well as institutions on the local level empirical evidence from case studies on the german cities of emden and bottrop illustrates our theoretical conceptualisation of energy transitions we conclude by presenting characteristic interaction patterns for energy transition drawn from the two cases

the status of the hydrogen and fuel cell innovation system in iran abstract hydrogen energy in combination with fuel cell technology plays an important role in addressing the growing energy demand in the coming decades this paper analyses the functional and structural factors which affect the development of this technology in iran we apply the technological innovation system tis approach the analysis shows that compared to the progress of the hydrogen and fuel cell technology hfct in leading countries iran is far behind the desired phase of development this gap is partly explained due to the weak structure and functions of the hfct system in iran thus the technology has remained in the demonstration phase for a long time the analytical results show that the fulfillment of entrepreneurial activities is required for the transition of the technology to the pre commercial phase in turn considerable financial resources are needed to accomplish entrepreneurial activity considering the current situation of renewable energy resources in iran supportive laws and regulations are urgently needed as prerequisites for the mobilization of financial resources

assessing the regional economic impacts of renewable energy sources a literature review abstract the transition of the global energy system is one of the main trends that offers opportunities as well as challenges for the economy most literature evaluates the impact of that transition at a national level that view is broadened towards a regional scale due to the lower energy density of many renewable energy sources renewable energy generation will be more decentralised leading to potentially significant changes in the regional economy when transitioning to a renewable energy system in this paper the current literature and methods of assessing regional economic impacts of a transition to renewable energy generation is reviewed the findings suggest an overall need to clearly define the topics such as technologies that are assessed and the evaluated time period a guideline for a regional impact assessment is provided focusing on the suitability of applied impact assessment methods employment ratios supply chain analyses input output models and computable general equilibrium models

transforming the energy sector the evolution of technological systems in renewable energy technology this paper analyses the development and diffusion of technologies that utilize renewable energy sources in germany sweden and the netherlands the analysis enlarges the life cycle model of industry evolution to one where the focus is on the formation and evolution of new technological systems particular focus is on explaining success and failures in shifting from a formative phase into one characterized by positive feedbacks a set of challenges is identified for policy makers attempting to influence the process of transforming the energy sector

unpacking policy processes for addressing systemic problems in technological innovation systems the case of offshore wind in germany while empirical studies on technological innovation systems tis usually focus on policy instruments and their suitability for curing identified weaknesses of such emerging systems the underlying policy processes and their effects have been largely disregarded we address this gap by exploring the style of two crucial policy making processes and how it influences the functioning and performance of a tis taking the case of offshore wind in germany our findings indicate important positive and negative impacts of the policy style on the tis for example the muddling through character apparent in one of the policy processes negatively influenced entrepreneurial activities knowledge development and finally technology diffusion whereas the participatory nature of both processes had a positive impact both on tis functioning and performance based on our findings we derive implications on how to improve policy making so as to foster the development of an emerging tis

handling financial resource mobilisation in technological innovation systems the case of chinese wind power to mitigate climate change a rapid and large scale expansion of sustainable innovations such as renewable energy technologies is crucial china s track record of wind power development shows both speed and scale that can provide valuable knowledge of how to stimulate and maintain transformation of energy systems the growth was made possible partly by ample access to financial capital however the rapid growth also led to growing pains and made the industry face increasing financial constraints while these constraints partly relate to structures and trends that are external to the wind power innovation system they were also a consequence of the particular path taken in chinese wind power development the case demonstrates that if a full fledged industry is to be developed and sustained a balanced growth is required and all innovation system functions need due attention sooner or later conceptually the article contributes by further exploring how mobilisation of financial resources affect and is affected by overall system dynamics

a coevolutionary framework for analysing a transition to a sustainable low carbon economy this paper proposes a coevolutionary framework for analysing a transition to a sustainable low carbon economy based on the coevolution of ecosystems technologies institutions business strategies and user practices within a multi level micro meso macro perspective this builds on and develops previous coevolutionary analyses of long term technological and industrial change and recent renewed interest within ecological economics on coevolutionary approaches previous work has analysed how the coevolution of technologies and institutions has led to the lock in of current high carbon energy systems and how the coevolution of physical and social technologies and business strategies has brought significant material and welfare benefits to the minority of the world s population living in industrialised countries the coevolutionary framework proposed here may be used to undertake 1 detailed empirical analyses at a micro meso level of the challenges relating to the innovation and adoption of particularly low carbon technologies 2 as a framework for analysing the multi level interaction of social and technological elements within potential transition pathways to a low carbon energy system 3 to assess the implications for economic growth and prosperity of a transition to a low carbon economy and 4 to assist in the development of more formal multi level evolutionary economic models

identifying barriers in the diffusion of renewable energy sources abstract rapid diffusion of renewable energy sources res in the electricity power sector is crucial if the eu wants to fulfill its 2050 co2 reduction commitments for this reason identifying and alleviating all barriers that hinder the development of res is necessary to the successful deployment of these technologies this paper discusses the main barriers in the diffusion of wind and photovoltaic pv solar power in the greek electricity sector by drawing on the literature of technological innovation systems and system functions furthermore we provide an explanation of the different diffusion rates between the two technologies inadequate financial resources low grid capacity delays in the issuance of building permits opposition from local communities to the construction of wind farms and the lack of a stable institutional framework are among the most important barriers that inhibit the diffusion of the wind and pv solar power the nature of the barriers identified in this study calls for policy intervention

exploring technology diffusion in emerging markets the role of public policy for wind energy abstract this study challenges the implicit assumption of homogeneity in national institutional contexts made in past studies of renewable energy policy we propose that institutional differences matter by focusing on several technology specific and generic policy factors that can foster technology diffusion through private sector activity more specifically we explore perceptions of early adopters in emerging economy contexts using wind park project developers as an example by applying a parsimonious method for our questionnaire as well as qualitative data we make several contributions methodologically we introduce maximum difference scaling to the energy policy domain empirically we identify several public influences on private investment and assess their relative importance this leads to new insights challenging findings from industrialized economies we identified additional institutional barriers to diffusion hence the requirement of a combination of technology specific and generic policy measures

regulating technological change the strategic reactions of utility companies towards subsidy policies in the german spanish and uk electricity markets abstract this paper focuses on how incumbent electric utilities strategically react to subsidy schemes supporting renewable energy technologies in the uk germany and spain firms coordinate the development of their technological capabilities and their political activities to shape their regulatory environment analysing the diffusion of wind power in these countries we show that the different ways in which firms coordinate their technological and political strategies lead to very different market outcomes both for the firms market share and the size of the overall market although incumbents are usually seen as being resistant to change in energy systems we show that spanish utilities proactively drive the diffusion of wind power we speculate about the relation between the ownership structure of the energy system and its inertia with respect to the integration of new technologies we derive novel policy implications that explicitly take into account the strategic actions of incumbent firms shaping the technological and regulatory system

communities matter institutional preconditions for community renewable energy abstract energy transitions are high on political agendas from a practical viewpoint community approaches are deemed essential in order to transition from a predominantly centralized energy supply to a decentralized one and to exploit the potential of renewable energies in this paper i discuss how the emergence of community based energy projects can be analyzed from an institutional perspective in this context a community is treated as an individual institutional order that shapes decisions i examine how community structures the implementation of biogas cooperatives in the autonomous province of south tyrol in northern italy my findings suggest that community spirit a cooperative tradition and the norms of locality and responsibility are central drivers behind the emergence and constitution of biogas cooperatives not only do these institutional features of community influence the decision concerning which farmers are in or out but also plant location and scale i argue that community is a necessary analytical category for understanding community energy

towards a knowledge based theory of the geographical cluster co located firms within related industries enhance the ability to create knowledge by variation and a deepened division of labour the interdependent development between economic activities and local institutions make the cluster attractive to some industries and hostile to others the very reasons why cognitive distance might be small within the cluster tend to make cognitive distance great between clusters and make interfirm co operation across bodies of knowledge more costly the additional value created when clustering may justify the additional cost copyright 2001 by oxford university press

entrapment in large technology systems institutional commitment and power relations abstract large technology systems cannot be developed without social commitments usually including legal especially in the form of contracts organisational involving producers users and financiers and political involving various actors associated with the state commitments without such commitments there can be no innovation and no investment given the high risks that are entailed however embedded commitments can create inertia causing inferior technologies and technology paths to survive long after they should have been abandoned this form of technological lock in may be reinforced when there are close relations between producers and states which prevent markets and democratic processes from operating effectively these phenomena are illustrated through study of the thermal oxide reprocessing plant thorp a nuclear reprocessing plant in the uk the lesson for technology policy is that much more attention needs to be given to the maintenance of reversibility and adaptability in infrastructural development

up scaling formative phases and learning in the historical diffusion of energy technologies the 20th century has witnessed wholesale transformation in the energy system marked by the pervasive diffusion of both energy supply and end use technologies just as whole industries have grown so too have unit sizes or capacities analysed in combination these unit level and industry level growth patterns reveal some consistencies across very different energy technologies first the up scaling or increase in unit size of an energy technology comes after an often prolonged period of experimentation with many smaller scale units second the peak growth phase of an industry can lag these increases in unit size by up to 20 years third the rate and timing of up scaling at the unit level is subject to countervailing influences of scale economies and heterogeneous market demand these observed patterns have important implications for experience curve analyses based on time series data covering the up scaling phases of energy technologies as these are likely to conflate industry level learning effects with unit level scale effects the historical diffusion of energy technologies also suggests that low carbon technology policies pushing for significant jumps in unit size before a formative phase of experimentation with smaller scale units are risky

understanding carbon lock in abstract this paper narrative argues that industrial economies have been locked into fossil fuel based energy systems through a process of technological and institutional co evolution driven by path dependent increasing returns to scale it is asserted that this condition termed carbon lock in creates persistent market and policy failures that can inhibit the diffusion of carbon saving technologies despite their apparent environmental and economic advantages the notion of a techno institutional complex is introduced to capture the idea that lock in occurs through combined interactions among technological systems and governing institutions while carbon lock in provides a conceptual basis for understanding macro level barriers to the diffusion of carbon saving technologies it also generates questions for standard economic modeling approaches that abstract away technological and institutional evolution in their elaboration the question of escaping carbon lock in is left for a future paper

the market failure and the systemic failure rationales in technological innovation systems abstract in this paper we analyse the conceptual relationship between the market failure rationale and the systemic failure rationale as justifications for policy intervention within an innovation systems is analytical framework current policy analyses in the is literature are characterised by two contrasting theoretical positions regarding the way in which both rationales are conceptually interrelated in one strand of the literature the market failure rationale is considered as a valid although insufficient justification for policy intervention that therefore needs to be complemented by the arguments put forward by the systemic failure rationale this perspective implicitly presents the systemic failure framework as a more general approach than the market failure perspective on the other hand a number of is policy contributions explicitly reject the market failure approach and consider it a flawed argument for government intervention in this theoretical view the systemic failure approach is thus proposed as a more appropriate alternative innovation policy rationale despite their relevance as the theoretical bases that currently underpin actual innovation policy design an analysis of the robustness and conceptual coherence of these contrasting perspectives has not been provided so far in this work we set the analytical steps we deem required for this analysis and investigate under which premises the relationship between the market failure and the system failure rationales proposed by these two policy perspectives is valid from a theoretical point of view

analyzing the functional dynamics of technological innovation systems a scheme of analysis various researchers and policy analysts have made empirical studies of innovation systems in order to understand their current structure and trace their dynamics however policy makers often experience difficulties in extracting practical guidelines from studies of this kind in this paper we operationalize our previous work on a functional approach to analyzing innovation system dynamics into a practical scheme of analysis for policy makers the scheme is based on previous literature and our own experience in developing and applying functional thinking it can be used by policy makers not only to identify the key policy issues but also to set policy goals

the growth of gambling and prediction markets economic and financial implications in recent years there has been a substantial global increase in gambling and prediction markets including casinos sports betting lotteries elections and wagering on financial instruments this trend has heightened interest in numerous economic and financial issues related to this sector these include questions relating to the efficiency of these markets heterogeneity in risk attitudes among economic agents and the use of prediction markets in policy analysis the papers in this special issue provide a mix of theoretical and empirical evidence on these issues

enabling innovations in energy access an african perspective abstract conventional energy technologies and deployment approaches cannot be relied upon to eliminate energy poverty in africa innovations in energy access are necessary previous attempts at introducing and scaling up innovative solutions do not sufficiently address dynamic and structural determinants of success this limits their actual performance as scalable drivers of innovations in technology policy and institutions using technological innovation systems theory we demonstrate a practical approach to assess the sustainability of innovations in energy access and develop a framework to guide energy policy makers clean energy entrepreneurs and energy development researchers

responding to structural industry changes a technological evolution perspective we argue that the search for a dynamic theory of strategy and for a link between the product market and resource based views may be incomplete without an exploration of the evolution of the technology that underlies products and heterogeneous firm capability as technology evolves so do industry characteristics products and critical success factors firms without the right capabilities are forced to exit thus an industry s structure attractiveness and the kinds of capabilities that it needs to succeed may vary over time suggesting different strategies for each phase

initial advantage the origins of the geographic concentration of the pharmaceutical industry in the mid atlantic region in this paper we offer an interpretation of the social and institutional context that promoted the development and evolution of the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry our interest is in defining the historical circumstances that led to the geographic concentration of the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry in the mid atlantic region our focus is both geographic and institutional as we seek to understand the forces behind geographic localization and the ways in which geographic localization may contribute to the advancement of science and to the evolution of industries in this paper we describe the general development of the industry in the mid atlantic region of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries copyright 1996 by oxford university press

export orientation and domestic electricity generation effects on energy efficiency innovation in select sectors abstract why are some countries developing many energy efficiency innovations while others are lagging behind i argue that export orientation and electricity at low variable cost from nuclear and hydropower plants have an interactive effect on energy efficiency innovation export oriented countries have strong incentives to invest in energy efficiency innovation as they are in a position to export these technology innovations for global markets but if inexpensive electricity is supplied in a country the domestic demand for energy efficiency innovation is missing and so the home market cannot serve as a springboard for international commercialization i test this theory against international patent data on energy efficiency innovation in insulation heating and lighting for 22 oecd countries 1991 2007 the statistical analysis indicates that export orientation has large positive effects on energy efficiency innovation in countries that do not rely on nuclear and hydroelectricity

change actors in the u s electric energy system the role of environmental groups in utility adoption and diffusion of wind power we study the contribution of environmental groups to new technology adoption and diffusion by dominant incumbents building on institutional and social movement theory we develop a theoretical framework that sheds light on environmental groups as change actors we theorize that by approaching embedded key constituents with various strategic actions environmental groups affect taken for granted beliefs build legitimacy for renewable energy technologies and convince skeptical constituents to support the new technology we verify our theoretical framework with a case study of wind power development in colorado we find that environmentalists educate constituents on the benefits of the new technology engage in activities leading to regulatory and legislative decisions for wind while also providing direct assistance to the utility as a result utilities are both pressured and encouraged to adopt and diffuse wind power on a large scale this research directs attention to the role of environmental groups as change actors and the legitimating effects of their actions it highlights their part in creating a more favorable institutional environment for new technologies while directly influencing the incumbent s technology choice this paper contributes to an understanding of bottom up actor initiated changes in energy systems taking into account both the systemic technological infrastructure and the institutional context

assessing policy strategies for the promotion of environmental technologies a review of india s national solar mission abstract there is widespread consensus that no individual policy instrument but rather a policy mix is needed to effectively drive the development and diffusion of environmental technologies however what exactly constitutes such a policy mix remains largely undefined this paper takes this discussion a step further by developing a comprehensive framework for assessing and comparing policy approaches for the promotion of environmental technologies it begins with a critical review of existing policy mix concepts pointing out key shortcomings to address the identified challenges it proposes the concept of a policy strategy as an alternative framework for policy assessment and comparison this serves as the basis for integrating findings from the literature on environmental innovation and technological change in a comprehensive framework for assessing policy strategies for the promotion of environmental technologies the framework is then applied for the assessment of india s national solar mission the country s strategy for promoting solar energy technologies based on the resulting findings the potential and limitations of the proposed framework are discussed

farm level constraints on the domestic supply of perennial energy crops in the uk abstract there are a number of estimates of the land area that could potentially be dedicated to perennial energy crops such as short rotation coppice src willow and miscanthus in the uk but little is known about how farmers will respond to the opportunities presented by these relatively novel crops perennial energy crops face competition from other arguably more flexible uses of farmland and if not seen as attractive propositions to individual farmers they will not be grown farmers decisions are therefore a key constraint on potential supply this paper reviews the policy background and considers whether policy is based on any consideration of likely supply response before presenting outcomes of focus groups composed of farmers who already grow or are considering growing perennial energy crops there appear to be a number of barriers to adoption in addition to concerns over the security of contracts the current high wheat price increases the opportunity cost of committing land to perennial energy crops there are also worries about the impact of willow roots on field drains and the cost of returning the land to other uses this paper outlines a number of issues of importance to policy makers and suggests future research needs

long term evolutionary change in organizational populations theory models and empirical findings in industrial demography organizational ecology is a theoretical perspective on organizations that attempts to explain long term social evolution especially the rise and fall of organizational populations this artist review the most sustained demographic research program of the perspective one based on the density dependent model of legitimation and competition it discusses the theoretical model and evidence from industrial demography that has been offered in its support as well as criticisms that have been registered unresolved research problems of the program are identified and three major models in progress attempting to address these open questions are discussed and compared copyright 1997 by oxford university press

the emerging liquid biofuel market in argentina implications for domestic demand and international trade while the world s transport energy matrix is still strongly linked to limited and heavily polluting fossil fuels new markets are appearing for the production and use of alternative transport fuels such as liquid biofuels due to an interconnected global economy such markets today are developing on a global scale with actors looking to meet local as well as potential international demand the aim of this paper is to describe and evaluate the emergence of markets for liquid biofuels in argentina it reveals that biodiesel production for international supply is likely to emerge in the short run up to 2010 giving the opportunity to be switched back to local supply in the medium run post 2010 it also suggests that a bioethanol market demand and supply does not seem to be likely in the short run and it is highly uncertain in the medium run as the most influential actors oppose its development on the other hand the current constellations of the biodiesel market appear to leave many uncertainties regarding its sustainability especially in regard to a limited role of small and medium sized enterprises and a suitable and diversified biodiesel feedstock currently the focus lies solely on very large scale production of biodiesel derived from soybean oil for the export market

innovation in the energy sector the role of fossil fuels and developing economies abstract this paper analyzes the effects of fossil fuel rents on r d expenditures and patent grants in the field of energy related technology we argue that an increasing share of fossil fuel rents lessens the innovation of new energy technologies we consider a sample of countries beyond the common selection of oecd members and investigate innovation efforts in the energy sector of 116 countries from 1980 to 2012 we observe the gradually growing influence of resource abundant countries on global r d expenditures and find that increasing fossil fuel rents have a negative effect on patent grants this study contributes to the ongoing debate concerning the potential effects of resource abundance more importantly it increases our understanding of innovation activities within the energy sector and further underscores the need to extend future research to countries that have not been taken into account thus far

tales of dissemination in small farm agriculture lessons for institution builders abstract this article describes patterns that are discernible across a dozen cases of good micro performance in agricultural research and extension in poverty stricken northeast brazil research meant to contribute toward a more grounded approach to remedying the problem of mediocre performance of these institutions elsewhere the good performances involved the presence of demanding user agencies outside extension and research shorter time horizons and more focused tasks localized credit subsidies with automatic sunset provisions and penalties for nonperformance a strong presence of municipal elites normally avoided in the design of such programs and an equally strong and complementary presence of more centralized public sector actors

increasing synergies between institutions and technology developers lessons from marine energy abstract this paper describes innovation activities in the marine energy sector across ten european countries in 2011 intense knowledge creation occurred in the uk and northern european countries while european research networks encouraged public private partnerships facilitating knowledge diffusion an analysis based on a technological innovation system tis has identified challenges for the system to evolve from one phase of development to another i e from pre development to take off phase in order for marine energy to pass successfully through the commercialisation valley of death entrepreneurial experimentation and production is crucial entrepreneurial initiatives were developed mainly in the united kingdom denmark norway and ireland whereas france germany and sweden were active through venture capital initiatives additional system builders such as the authorities in charge of energy policies could offer guidance for research ensure legitimacy and effectively mobilise resources for system development although public support was efficient in stimulating private investment national targets seemed less efficient in creating a long time horizon for private investors due to consecutive unexpected changes in contrast positive interactions between technology developers and policy makers could empower market formation ultimately the creation of a policy community also involving local communities could foster a positive environment for the development of innovation activities

institutionalizing ethical innovation in organizations an integrated causal model of moral innovation decision processes this article answers several calls coming as well from corporate governance practitioners as from corporate governance researchers concerning the possibility of complying simultaneously with requirements of innovation and ethics revealing the long term orientation as the variable which permits us to link the principal goal of organization being survival with innovation and ethic the article devises a framework for incorporating ethics into a company s processes and strategies for innovation with the principal goal of organizations being survival in the long term it is assumed that innovation is necessary in order to realize a going concern firms that do not innovate and adapt to rapidly changing business environments are less likely to be sustainable thus it is in a business best interests to adopt an innovation process for long term success we posit that there are two simultaneous sources of innovation and change that are unavoidable and embedded in the corporate landscape first we argue for genetically embedded darwinian explanations for adaptations that enable an entity s survival this view is combined with more conventional social science explanations for change our new comprehensive model of the governance of innovation processes hinges on the one hand on an organization s long term orientation which we argue is not possible without a consideration of an ethical dimension on the other hand the model employs for the first time the concept of duality in order to make the positive coexistence of innovation and ethic analytically visible guided by this concept the roots of the ethic within innovation are traced from both natural science forces for change and cultural pressures operating on members of an organization we present our integrated causal model of innovation and propose theoretical relationships that will generate numerous avenues for future research in the field and help managers to reorient their governance strategies

removing environmental market failure through support mechanisms insights from green start ups in the british french and german energy sectors environmentally relevant market failure related to the lack of value attached to environmentally beneficial economic activity constrains environmental entrepreneurship as reported by dean and mcmullen journal of business venturing 22 50 76 2007 unless this market failure is addressed green start ups will be confined to a green prison as stated in pacheco et al sustainable development and entrepreneurship 25 464 480 2010 unable to grow and disseminate their eco innovations out with environmental niche markets in britain france and germany support mechanisms promote the expansion of renewable power technologies this paper examines environmental entrepreneurs perceptions of the importance and effectiveness of support mechanisms in removing environmental market failure in the energy sectors of these three countries our findings suggest that these support mechanisms are perceived by entrepreneurs as having provided a crucial pecuniary motivation among consumers to adopt eco innovation creating greater market certainty for green start ups however when these support mechanisms are reformed aiming at greater market integration for eco innovation green start ups find this transition from protection to more market exposure as challenging and more suited for incumbent firms

comparing the innovation effects of support schemes for renewable electricity technologies a function of innovation approach abstract the aim of this paper is to provide a comparative assessment of the innovation effects of instruments which support the diffusion of renewable electricity technologies with a functions oriented technological innovation system perspective the paper provides a link between two major streams of the literature the functions of innovation systems and the literature on renewable electricity support schemes we show that when a functional perspective is adopted feed in tariffs are likely to be superior to other policy instruments quotas with tradable green certificates and tendering although they still need to be complemented with other instruments most importantly direct r d support furthermore those innovation effects are affected by the specific design elements of the instruments chosen

do policy mix characteristics matter for low carbon innovation a survey based exploration of renewable power generation technologies in germany abstract policy mixes may play a crucial role in redirecting and accelerating innovation towards low carbon solutions thus addressing a key societal challenge towards this end some argue that the characteristics of such policy mixes matter greatly yet with little empirical evidence backing up such claims in this paper we explore this link between policy mix characteristics and low carbon innovation using the research case of the transition of the german electricity system towards renewable energy our empirical insights are based on an innovation survey administered to german manufacturers of renewable power generation technologies which builds on the community innovation survey for our purposes we adjusted the survey to better capture companies perceptions of policy mixes employing a bivariate tobit model we find evidence that companies perceptions regarding the consistency and credibility of the policy mix are positively associated with their innovation expenditures for renewable energies and this positive link intensifies when considering the mutual interdependence of these policy mix characteristics in contrast neither the comprehensiveness of the instrument mix nor the coherence of policy processes were found to be related to innovation expenditures overall these findings suggest that future research on low carbon and eco innovation should pay greater attention to the characteristics of policy mixes rather than focusing on policy instruments only finally our findings indicate a need to consider how policy may be measured in innovation surveys to generate better informed policy advice regarding the greening of innovation

national innovation systems and the intermediary role of industry associations in building institutional capacities for innovation in developing countries a critical review of the literature abstract developed over the past three decades the national innovation system concept nis has been widely used by both scholars and policy makers to explain how interactions between a set of distinct nationally bounded institutions supports and facilitates technological change and the emergence and diffusion of new innovations this concept provides a framework by which developing countries can adopt for purposes of catching up initially conceived on structures and interactions identified in economically advanced countries the application of the nis concept to developing countries has been gradual and has coincided in the nis literature with a move away from overly macro interpretations to an emphasis on micro level interactions and processes with much of this work questioning the nation state as the most appropriate level of analysis as well as the emergence of certain intermediary actors thought to facilitate knowledge exchange between actors and institutions this paper reviews the nis literature chronologically showing how this shift in emphasis has diminished somewhat the importance of both institutions particularly governments and the political processes of institutional capacity building in doing so the paper suggests that more recent literature on intermediaries such as industry associations may offer valuable insights to how institutional capacity building occurs and how it might be directed particularly in the context of developing countries where governance capacities are often lacking contributing to less effective innovation systems stagnant economies and unequal development

structural dynamics of innovation networks funded by the european union in the context of systemic innovation of the renewable energy sector innovation in the renewable energy re sector relies on the concept of systemic innovation which requires interaction between two innovation aspects technology exploration and market exploitation the european union eu has introduced political instruments for systemic re innovation by integrating resources from different thematic and geographic areas however using these instruments to establish an ecosystem for systemic innovation remains unexplored this study develops a framework for evaluating the systemic innovation performance of networks through a time series analysis of network structural properties overall eu funded innovation networks have not evolved in a systemic direction first the network exhibits densely connected local clusters for technology exploration and market exploitation of re innovation which are disconnected from each other over time the gap between the two phases has weakened with increasing connectivity but the local clusters supporting either explorative or exploitative activities have diminished the existing networking linkages among organizations are considered ineffective because their positions in the network tend to display a mismatch with their innovation patterns this research presents policy suggestions for optimizing the exploration and exploitation activities in the eu s funding program and their complementarities to establish a systemic innovation environment in the re sector

the slow pace of rapid technological change gradualism and punctuation in technological change discussions of technological change have offered sharply contrasting perspectives of technological change as gradual or incremental and the image of technological change as being rapid even discontinuous these alternative perspectives are bridged using the punctuated equilibrium framework of evolutionary biology using this framework it is argued that the critical event is not a transformation of the technology but speciation the application of existing technology to a new domain of application as a result of the distinct selection criteria and the degree of resource abundance in the new domain a new technological form may emerge the new technological form may be able to penetrate other niches and in particular may precipitate a process of creative destruction and out compete prior technologies this framework is applied to an historical study of wireless communication from the early experimental efforts of hertz to the modern development of wireless telephony

mobilizing private finance for low carbon innovation a systematic review of barriers and solutions this paper analyses the field of innovation studies regarding barriers to low carbon innovation and consequences for finance investment and divestment and contributes to a more holistic understanding of the underlying mechanisms a combination of technological barriers combined with economic barriers institutional and political barriers contribute to sub optimal low carbon investment all along the innovation cycle policy makers need to take a systemic approach to enable the redirection of diverse private financial sources instruments range from cutting dirty r d subsidies and support for clean technology innovation and diffusion levelling the institutional playing field and making risks of high carbon and low carbon technologies transparent to providing a consistent but adaptive long term transition strategy this would allow financiers to gradually shift their investments away from high carbon mainstream markets and scale low carbon technology niche markets however financiers also need to sharpen their competencies with regard to new clean technologies and markets

hydrogen technological innovation systems in practice comparing danish and american approaches to fuel cell development this paper investigates danish and american hydrogen fuel research from a modified technological innovation system tis perspective we ask which approach to hydrogen research is more effective and what do the differences between the two cases tell us about the research process and theories of innovation to answer these questions we begin by justifying our selection of hydrogen systems and denmark and the united states as our case studies we proceed to introduce a modified theoretical framework of tis and focus on seven core elements of hydrogen research knowledge development and diffusion entrepreneurial experimentation political and social influence market formation legitimation resource mobilization and positive externalities we conclude by offering insights from our comparison as they relate to hydrogen research strategy and policy effectiveness at achieving national goals and the need for further research and better conceptual models about innovation

when shakeout doesn t occur the evolution of the turboprop engine industry abstract a careful case study of the history of the turboprop engine industry 1948 1997 is offered as an example of non shakeout pattern the persistence of high concentration is not associated with the exit of smaller manufacturers but instead a stable coexistence of generalist and specialist strategies emerges in sharp contrast to the pattern observed in the otherwise similar jet engine industry this paper identifies the relevant variables of a more general theory of industry life cycle by taking into account the lack of creation of significant increasing returns in r d manufacturing or marketing all of which are commonly found in industries that produce systemic products

the paradox effects of uncertainty and flexibility on investment in renewables under governmental support abstract given that companies have the flexibility to decide about size and timing of a renewable electricity investment the existence of four paradox effects is proven only the type but not the amount of governmental support has an influence on the optimal capacity of a renewable electricity generating system a decrease of governmental support over time may result in higher capacities of renewables installed on an industry level at least on the short term likewise higher uncertainty may encourage an expansion of these capacities in contrast technological progress may hamper the expansion of capacities finally these four paradox effects are exemplified in a germany based case study regarding a photovoltaic project

devising renewable heat policy overview of support options renewable energy sources of heat offer the substantial economic environmental and social benefits associated with renewable electricity but policy to support their expansion is considerably less advanced the potential for applying various support instruments to renewable heat is considered with advantages and disadvantages discussed c 2012 published by elsevier ltd

compulsive policy making the evolution of the german feed in tariff system for solar photovoltaic power abstract in recent years policy approaches that build upon the notion of innovation systems have enjoyed increasing attention in science technology and innovation policy but while the usefulness of systemic thinking in policy making has been demonstrated in a large number of empirical settings we still lack a detailed understanding of the dynamics at play when policy makers address systemic problems in this paper we show how complex interdependencies and the uncertain nature of technological change shape the process of targeted policy interventions in socio technical systems toward this end we analyzed the evolution of the german feed in tariff fit system for solar photovoltaic power a highly effective and widely copied policy instrument targeted at fostering the diffusion and development of renewable energy technologies we find that the policy has been subject to a considerable amount of changes many of which are the result of policy makers addressing specific system issues and bottlenecks interestingly however often these issues themselves were driven by unforeseen technological developments induced by previous policy interventions we argue that the pattern of policy serving as both a solution to and a driver of technological bottlenecks shows strong similarities with what rosenberg 1969 called compulsive sequences in the development of technical systems by shedding more light on how the characteristics of socio technical systems affect policy interventions our framework represents a first step toward more closely integrating the literature on innovation systems with the work on policy learning

evolutionary approaches for sustainable innovation policies from niche to paradigm fostering technological innovation is considered as an important element of policies towards sustainable development in the past 10 years evolutionary policy approaches have been increasingly advocated for several reasons they seem well equipped to underpin sustainable innovation policies they focus on dynamics of change and their drivers they allow for a substantive perspective on technologies beyond mere input output relations taking into account trajectories and different characteristics of innovation and they are able to describe circumstances under which established technologies might persist even when they are to some extent inferior to their new competitors lock in however the policy effectiveness of evolutionary approaches in cases in which radical or systemic changes are involved is not yet proven in this paper we assess the theoretical rationale instrumental aspects and the coping with policy constraints of three evolutionary policy approaches which have also been used in empirical studies strategic niche management transition management and time strategies each approach has its strengths and specific problems and all three have to be further developed and tested out but they hold promise for contributing to non incremental change with economic and environmental benefits by shaping processes of variation selection and retention with the outcomes feeding back into policy they may also be used in other areas in which innovation direction is important for instance health care or food

inventor networks in renewable energies the influence of the policy mix in germany technological change and gains in efficiency of renewable power generation technologies are to a large extent driven by governmental support various policy instruments that can broadly be categorized as technology push demand pull or systemic constitute part of the policy mix for renewable energies our goal is to gain insights into the influence of this policy mix on the intensity and organization of inventive activities for wind power and photovoltaics in germany since the 1980s we examine the effect of different instruments on the size and structure of co inventor networks based on patent data our results indicate notable differences between the technologies the network size for wind power is driven by technology push and systemic instruments while in photovoltaics demand pull is decisive for network growth by and large the instruments complement each other and form a consistent mix of policy instruments the structure of the networks is driven by demand pull for both technologies systemic instruments increase interaction especially in the wind power network and are complementary to demand pull in fostering collaboration

the politics of renewable energy policies the case of feed in tariffs in ontario canada designing and implementing a renewable energy policy involves political decisions and actors yet most research on renewable energy policies comparatively evaluates instruments from an economic or technical perspective this paper presents a case study of ontario s feed in tariff policies between 1997 and 2012 to analyze how the political process affects renewable energy policy design and implementation ontario s policy although initially successful has met with increasing resistance over time the case reveals key political tensions that arise during implementation first high level support for a policy does not necessarily translate into widespread public support particularly for local deployment second the government often struggles under asymmetric information during price setting which may weaken the policy s legitimacy with the public due to higher costs third there is an unacknowledged tension that governments must navigate between policy stability to spur investment and adaptive policymaking to improve policy design fourth when multiple jurisdictions pursue the same policies simultaneously international political conflict over jobs and innovation may occur these implementation tensions result from political choices during policy design and present underappreciated challenges to transforming the electricity system governments need to critically recognize the political dimension of renewable energy policies to secure sustained political support

the jatropha biofuels sector in tanzania 2005 9 evolution towards sustainability abstract biofuel production has recently attracted much attention some anticipate substantial social and environmental benefits while at the same time expecting sound profitability for investors others are doubtful envisaging large trade offs between the pursuit of social environmental and economic objectives particularly in poor countries in the tropics the paper explores these issues in tanzania which has been an african forerunner in the cultivation of a bio oil shrub called jatropha curcas l we trace how isolated jatropha biofuel experiments developed since early 2005 towards a sectoral production and innovation system and we investigate to what extent that system has been capable of developing and maintaining sustainable practices and producing sustainable outcomes the application of evolutionary innovation theory allows us to view the developments in the sector as a result of evolutionary variation and selection on the one hand and revolutionary contestation between different coalitions of stakeholders on the other both these processes constitute significant engines of change while variation and selection are driven predominantly by localised technical and agronomic learning the conflict driven dynamics are highly globalised and occur primarily as a result of reflexive learning about problematic sustainability impacts the sector is found to have moved some way towards a full sectoral innovation and production system but it is impossible to predict whether a viable sector with a strong triple bottom line orientation will ultimate emerge since many issues surrounding the social environmental and financial sustainability still remain unresolved especially relating to local and global governance