Mukhopadhyay, Boidurjo.Pdf
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
A University of Sussex PhD thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details 1 Solar energy based entrepreneurship and rural development: Analysing institutional arrangements that support solar energy entrepreneurs in India Boidurjo Mukhopadhyay Submitted in accordance with the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management School of Business Management and Economics Department of Business and Management University of Sussex September 2016 2 I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be, submitted in whole or in part to another University for the award of any other degree Signature: Boidurjo Kanta Mukhopadhyay 3 Acknowledgements Foremost, I would like to take this opportunity to express the deepest appreciation to my highly resourceful supervisors, Professor Fiona Marshall and Dr. Shova Thapa Karki, for their commitment and belief in me throughout my Doctoral journey. Their patience, conceptual and methodological perspectives, constructive criticism, and just for being great human beings have helped me to build this original piece of creation. This is a great opportunity to thank Jawaharlal Nehru University who had kindly hosted me as a Visiting Fellow during my field trip to New Delhi; the kind, skilled and committed staff members at SKG-Sangha in Kolar, Karnataka and SELCO India in Bangalore. I thank all the interviewees for their valuable time - lead managers and staffs at the MNRE, AIWC, CSE, TATA Power Solar, DST, IIT, TERI, KREDL for their enthusiasm and support during my fieldwork in India. I would like to thank my parents, Dr Bijaya Mukhopadhyay and Dr. Bibhas Mukhopadhyay for their unwavering belief in me; my 10k+ students who have been my life during the past 5+ teaching years and from whom I could learn a lot on a continued basis; BMEc for sponsoring my PhD and ensuring access to necessary training and services in what one would expect from a leading business school in the UK. I would like to dedicate this thesis to the strongest and kindest woman whom I love, my Mother, Dr. Bijaya Mukhopadhyay for her divine influence on my life. ‚tasmad asaktah satatam karyam karma samacara asakto hy acaran karma param apnoti purusah‛ (Bhagavad Gita) TRANSLATION: Therefore, without being attached to the fruits of activities, one should act as a matter of duty; for by working without attachment, one attains the Supreme. 4 Abstract Renewable energy (RE hereafter) has been observed as a potentially significant new source of jobs and rural growth in both OECD and BRICs countries, and a means of addressing environmental and energy security concerns. The global deployment of RE has been expanding rapidly. For instance, the RE electricity sector grew by 26% between 2005 and 2010 globally and currently provides about 20% of the world’s total power (including hydro-power) (OECD, 2012). Rural areas attract a large part of investment related to renewable energy deployment, rending to be sparsely populated but with abundant sources of RE. Several case studies have found that RE deployment can provide hosting communities with some benefits including new revenue sources, new job and business opportunities, innovation in products/practices/policies in rural areas, capacity building and community empowerment, and affordable energy. There is a growing body of evidence on the instrumental role that entrepreneurs and small businesses play in driving local and national economies. The structure of rural economies is essentially composed of small enterprises, which are responsible for most of the job growth and the innovation. Rural development is a key element of strategies to reduce poverty and create income and employment opportunities (UNIDO, 2003). It is important to unleash and harness the creativity of grassroots entrepreneurs but they are posed with many challenges, the biggest being these grassroots inventions don’t scale up. To overcome these challenges and promote rural entrepreneurship, support roles are required; this is also where the importance and role of institutions and their planned arrangements (for example, partnerships) are much debated in both domestic and international forums. This research investigates the current institutional arrangements that support solar entrepreneurship which creates solar energy based income-generating micro enterprises in rural India. In addition to that, it explores the wider implications on rural development that these entrepreneurships have while using these solar RETs. Institutions and individuals promoting rural development see entrepreneurship as a strategic development intervention that could accelerate the rural development process (Ezeibe, 2013). India, being the only country with a national ministry dedicated to RE initiatives (the MNRE, Government of India) and also ranking third on the renewable energy country attractiveness index (E&Y, 2013; 2016) makes an interesting country choice for investigation. The thesis applies a qualitative research method with an exploratory design to understand the interaction process between institutions and how different institutions support rural development to generate an in-depth analysis of existing institutions using a conceptual framework. 5 Table of contents Acknowledgments ____________________________________________________ 3 Abstract_____________________________________________________________4 Tables of contents ____________________________________________________ 5 List of Tables________________________________________________________ 11 List of Figures________________________________________________________12 List of photos from fieldwork__________________________________________ 13 Chapter 1 – Introduction 1. Background____________________________________________________14 1.1. Research Context_______________________________________________ 23 2. Research aims and specific questions________________________________27 3. Reviewing key concepts 3.1. Rural Development______________________________________________29 3.2. Entrepreneurship________________________________________________37 3.3. Entrepreneurship contributing to rural development_________________ 41 3.4. Institutions and institutional arrangements__________________________42 3.5. Renewable energy technologies____________________________________46 4. Solar based entrepreneurship contributing to rural development_______________________________________________________ 48 Chapter 2 - The conceptual framework 2.1. Introduction_____________________________________________________ 54 2.2. OECD/EUROSTAT entrepreneurial framework_______________________55 2.3. Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework _____________61 2.4. Conceptual Framework analysing institutions for solar energy based entrepreneurship for rural development_________________________________________________67 2.5. Summary ________________________________________________________71 6 Chapter 3 – Research design, context and journey 3.1. Exploratory research______________________________________________73 3.2. Qualitative method ______________________________________________ 73 3.3. Case study ______________________________________________________75 3.4. Operationalising the conceptual framework ________________________ 76 3.5. Research context ________________________________________________78 3.5.1. Overview of the Indian RE context________________________________78 3.5.2. Actors and Institutions in the Indian RETs sector__________________80 3.5.2.1. Public________________________________________________________82 3.5.2.2. Private_______________________________________________________87 3.5.2.3. Partnership models____________________________________________93 3.5.2.4. Study sites and institutions studied _____________________________ 101 3.6. Data collection methods __________________________________________ 112 3.7. Data analysis: Thematic analysis ___________________________________126 3.8. Research ethics and limitations ___________________________________ 132 Chapter 4 – Institutions, institutional arrangements supporting solar based entrepreneurship in India 4.1 Introduction ___________________________________________________133 4.2. Solar Electric Light Company of India (SELCO) 4.2.1. Actors ______________________________________________________ 134 4.2.2. Patterns of interaction and outcomes generated ___________________136 4.2.3. Thematic analysis of support for solar based entrepreneurs ________145 4.3. All India Women’s Conference (AIWC) 4.3.1. Actors _______________________________________________________153 4.3.2. Patters of interaction and outcomes generated ____________________ 155 4.3.3. Thematic analysis of support for solar based entrepreneurs ________ 165 4.4. The Energy Research Institute (TERI) 4.4.1. Actors _______________________________________________________170 7 4.4.2. Patters of interaction and outcomes generated ___________________ 172 4.4.3.Thematic analysis of support for solar based entrepreneurs