ADVERTIMENT. Lʼaccés als continguts dʼaquesta tesi queda condicionat a lʼacceptació de les condicions dʼús establertes per la següent llicència Creative Commons: http://cat.creativecommons.org/?page_id=184 ADVERTENCIA. El acceso a los contenidos de esta tesis queda condicionado a la aceptación de las condiciones de uso establecidas por la siguiente licencia Creative Commons: http://es.creativecommons.org/blog/licencias/ WARNING. The access to the contents of this doctoral thesis it is limited to the acceptance of the use conditions set by the following Creative Commons license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/?lang=en International Renewable Energy Entrepreneurship; A Mixed- Method Approach By Seyed Meysam Zolfaghari Ejlal Manesh SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS IN PARTIAL FULLFILMENT OF THE REQUIRMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND MANAGEMENT AT THE AUTONOMOUS UNIVERSITY OF BARCELONA (UAB) © MEYSAM ZOLFAGHARI .All rights reserved. Advisors: Dr. Alex Rialp Prof. Joaquim Vergés Barcelona November 2016 1 Abstract The demand for energy is increasing over time because of the rapid expansion of the global economy and population growth. However, conventional energy systems based on fossil fuels are not only an unreliable source of energy for the future but also cause a range of environmental consequences, including acidification, air pollution, global climate change, etc. Energy-based economic development (EBED) (Carley, Lawrence, Brown, Nourafshan, & Benami, 2011) and sustainable development (SD) (Hopwood, Mellor, & O’Brien, 2005) will consequently require a new source of energy based on renewable energies, which are more accessible, environmentally friendly, secure, and efficient. To address challenges associated with fossil fuels and fostering sustainable development, recent progress in the field of entrepreneurship has shown increased interest in sustainability issues and environmentally friendly technological development. Current practical and theoretical advancements under the name of sustainable entrepreneurship (Schaltegger & Wagner, 2011; Dean & McMullen, 2007), eco- entrepreneurship (Holt, 2011), environmental entrepreneurship (Holt, 2011; York & Venkataraman, 2010; Young & Tilley, 2006), green entrepreneurship (Hockerts & Wüstenhagen, 2010; Nikolaou, Ierapetritis, & Tsagarakis, 2011; Wüstenhagen, Markard, & Truffer, 2003), and social entrepreneurship (Bull, 2008; Holt, 2011; Zahra, Gedajlovic, Neubaum, & Shulman, 2009) have made significant and diverse contributions to this field. However, due to the paramount importance of this subject, entrepreneurial activity in the energy sector needs further consideration. The notion of energy entrepreneurship (EE), introduced quite recently by Wüstenhagen and Wuebker (2011), involves “the role of entrepreneurial activity in the development and commercialization of breakthrough energy technologies in both start-up and established firms” (Wüstenhagen & Wuebker, 2011, p. 3). Here, an energy entrepreneur is defined as a person who seizes the environmentally relevant challenges of high-carbon fuel sources as opportunities for achieving profitability. This new concept at the intersection of entrepreneurship, social, and environmental research provides a theoretical initiative to determine how opportunities related to sustainability and energy arise through market imperfections (Cohen & Winn, 2007), and the role of entrepreneurship in the resolution of market failure and emerging environmental degradation (Dean & McMullen, 2007). However, this body of knowledge is still growing and further theoretical and practical progress is needed. By introducing the concept of international energy entrepreneurship (IEE), we provide a further contribution to the EE literature. IEE is an interdisciplinary research subject at the intersection of EE and international entrepreneurship (IE). According to the first formal definition provided by McDougall and Oviatt (2000) IE is: “…a combination of innovative, proactive and risk-seeking behavior that crosses national borders and is intended to create value in organizations” (p. 903). Drawing upon this definition and the EE concept in this doctoral dissertation, we study the role of entrepreneurial activity in the development and commercialization of new energy technologies across borders. 2 The main objective of this study is to ascertain the state of the development, commercialization, and diffusion of renewable energy technologies in international markets. To examine this question, we based this thesis on data gathered from multiple cases and a survey in the renewable energy industry. The research questions are designed at four levels of analysis: entrepreneurs, firms, industry, and policy. First of all, we are interested in identifying motivators, barriers, and enablers for energy entrepreneurs to enter international markets. At the firm level, we wish to determine what resources and capabilities are required, and how they impede or facilitate the process of internationalization. Finally, we investigate the importance of policy and industrial factors in the further development of this industry. This study makes several advanced contributions to the IE and EE literature. First, from the theoretical point of view, we provide the IE research stream with empirical data from the renewable energy industry as an emerging industry. The study also contributes to the IE field by examining the sustainability entrepreneurship literature to understand how sustainability principles might explain the internationalization of firms in this specific industry. Moreover, we apply resource-based theory as internationalization is an integrated part of a process by which companies try to access and leverage resources on their path towards commercialization and international growth (Zahra, Matherne, & Carleton, 2003). From the methodological perspective, performing a multi-level analysis is another contribution of this study to IE and the sustainable entrepreneurship literature. Multiple levels of analyses including entrepreneurs, firms, industry, and policy provide an opportunity to adopt a more holistic approach to internationalization in the renewable energy industry. Mixed methods research also allows us to examine the research questions and analyze the results using complementary data sources and from different perspectives. Finally, the results of this study will be of significant use to policymakers, assisting them in defining the starting point for reform and institutional capacity building, and establishing an environment that favors renewable energy development. In addition, managers and eco-/entrepreneurs can take advantage of the results of this study to foster international growth and survive. The next section begins with a review of theoretical developments in the sustainable business, EE, and IE literature. 3 To Ateeyeh & My Future Daughter! 4 Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my wife Ateeyeh for her never-ending encouragement and love. I will never be able to express my love and appreciation for her enough. My parents, Zahra and Mahdi, instilled in me a love for education, and their desire for me to be a “Doctor” (or at least my belief in that) played a non-significant role in my decision to pursue and complete this degree. I also would like to express my appreciation to my only brother, Morteza, for taking care of my parents when I was not home for 8 years. And my special thanks to my wife’s family, Dr. Abbas Aghamohammadi, Dr. Mahdieh Aghamohammadi-Schmidt, and my lovely mother in- law Shamsi, for their wonderful support and encouragement during all these years. I was very fortunate to have had an extraordinary committee along every dimension that matters. Such an accomplished group of people could not have been more supportive and giving of their time and energy. I was privileged for Alex Rialp as my main advisor and he provided me lots of help and constructive criticism during the development of this thesis in the field of international entrepreneurship. Prof. Joaquim Vergés was my primary connection to renewable energy industry and his strong support and encouragement was instrumental to get contacts and insight through the research in this specific industry. Wesley Sine was my advisor at Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. He shepherded me in the last phase of my thesis development with patience and was always there when I needed him. I would very much like to thank the entrepreneurs, investors, managers and various clean energy companies I interviewed and surveyed for this research ,both formally and informally, for their time and thoughtful insights. And I would like to thank my colleagues and friends from UAB, DIDSOLIT project, and Department of Business who served as inspiration and provided support for this research. 5 6 Table of Contents Abstract --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 1. Introduction -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 1.1. An overall description of the planned research --------------------------------------------------------------- 17 1.2. Objectives of research and research questions ---------------------------------------------------------------- 18 1.3. Expected contribution to existing knowledge on the topic ----------------------------------------------- 19 1.4. Method