THE INSECT ECONOMY FAKULTÄT II – INFORMATIK, WIRTSCHAFTS- UND RECHTSWISSENSCHAFTEN THE INSECT ECONOMY SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES BASED ON INSECTS AS BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES DISSERTATION Submitted in Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Title of Doktor der Wirtschaftswissenschaften (Dr. rer. pol.) Maria Real Perdomo th Born on 24 of March 1984 in Halle (Saale) BIOGRAPHY First Supervisor: Apl. Prof. Dr. Klaus Fichter Second Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Bernd Siebenhüner Place of Disputation: Oldenburg - Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg Disputation Date: 18.10.2018 I Maria Real Perdomo THE INSECT ECONOMY BIOGRAPHY Maria Real has a Bachelor in International Business and Intercultural Management (2009, Germany) and a Masters in Regional Planning and Environmental Manage- ment (2011, Spain). In 2013, she began working as scientific staff member at Heil- bronn University of Applied Sciences. The idea about writing about the Insect Econ- omy matured during the first conference about “Insects to Feed the World” in Wa- geningen 2014. During her research project, she participated in a number of confer- ences to present her ideas such as ISPIM in Hungary (2015) and Porto (2016), and the G-Form in Kassel (2015). At the G-Forum, the Hans Sauer Foundation awarded Prof. Klaus Fichter and her the Best Sustainable Entrepreneurship Research Award for their paper “Sustainable Business Opportunities in the Insect Economy”. Furthermore, to- gether with René Cerritos she published the article “Pre-Hispanic agriculture prac- tices: Using pest insects as an alternative source of protein” (DOI 10.2527/af.2015- 0017). Today, Maria is working as a business consultant in the area of innovation technology. II Maria Real Perdomo DANKSAGUNG (AKNOWLEDGEMENTS) DANKSAGUNG (AKNOWLEDGEMENTS) Meine besondere Anerkennung und Dank gilt meinem Doktorvater Professor Dr. Klaus Fichter. Seine Begleitung bei der Planung und seine unzähligen Reviews sowie wertvollen und konstruktiven Anregungen bei der Entwicklung dieser Forschungsarbeit waren sowohl für diese Arbeit als auch für meine persönliche Entwicklung entscheidend. Neben meinem Doktorvater möchte ich auch Prof. Dr. Bernd Siebenhüner, dem zweiten Gutachter meiner Arbeit, besonderen Dank aussprechen. Außerdem bedanke ich mich bei den anderen Mitgliedern des Prüfungsausschusses, nämlich dem Prüfungsausschussvorsitzenden Prof. Dr. Rudolf Schröder, Prof. Dr. Jannika Mattes und Prof. Dr. Alexander Nicolai für ihre aufschlussreichen Kommentare und Anregungen, aber auch für die schwierigen Fragen, die mich veranlasst haben, Aspekte meiner Arbeit auch noch einmal von anderen Perspektiven zu bedenken. Ich bin auch Prof. Mathias Moersch, Ph.D., Dekan der Fakultät für Internationale Betriebswirtschaftslehre der Hochschule Heilbronn, zu Dank verpflichtet. Er hat mich mit Ressourcen ausgestattet, die mir erlaubt haben meine Forschung zu verfolgen und mich weiterzubilden. Ich teile auch die Anerkennung meiner Arbeit mit den Interviewpartnern, welche ihre Erfahrungen mit mir geteilt haben und somit die Beantwortung der zweiten Forschungsfrage erst möglich gemacht haben. Vielen Dank auch an Arian Nek, der mir den neuesten Stand der Technik auf dem Gebiet der Biochemie vermittelt und mich mit den regionalen Aktivitäten der Bio-Wirtschaft vertraut gemacht hat. Mein Dank gilt dem Lektor dieses Manuskripts, Dr. Matt Breuer, für seine detaillierte Prüfung. Ich bedanke mich auch bei Dr. Linda Bergset für die umfassende Überprüfung eines vorläufigen Manuskripts und Dr. Karoline Bader für ihre strategischen Empfehlungen und ihre Unterstützung als sehr gute Freundin. Darüber hinaus danke ich meinem virtuellen Sparringpartner Toni Hassemaier, der mich während großer Teile des Schreibprozesses ermutigt und unterstützt hat. Ich möchte meiner Familie danken, die mich auf meinem Lebensweg unterstützt hat. Besonderer Dank gilt meiner Mutti und meinem Bruder, die mich ermutigt haben diese Arbeit zu schreiben. Insbesondere danke ich auch meinem Opa, der kurz vor der Verteidigung verstorben ist, und meiner Oma, für ihre immerwährende Fürsorge. Por último, no encuentro palabras para expresar mi gratitud a mi marido que me acom- pañó desde el principio en este largo viaje. Le agradezco su apoyo emocional e inte- lectual sin reservas. Le doy las gracias por ponerme siempre en primer lugar y por apoyarme en los momentos en que parecía que no quedaba energía [Palabra Cla-ve: Leguano]. (deutsch Übersetzung: Es fällt mir schwer die richtigen Worte zu finden, um auszudrücken wie sehr ich meinem Mann für seinen Beistand danke. Er hat mich von Anfang an auf dieser langen Reise begleitet hat. Ich danke ihm für seine unermüdliche emotionale und intellektuelle Unterstützung. Ich danke ihm, dass er III Maria Real Perdomo THE INSECT ECONOMY mich immer an die erste Stelle gesetzt hat und mich in Momenten unterstützt, in denen keine Energie mehr vorhanden zu sein schien. [Stichwort: Leguano]) IV Maria Real Perdomo ABSTRACT ABSTRACT This doctoral thesis explored, described and characterized business opportunities re- lated to insects as biological resources (research objective 1), and assessed and clas- sified their potential to foster sustainable development (research objective 2). It is embedded in the research fields of sustainable entrepreneurship, particularly related to business opportunities, and both sustainable innovation and sustainable business models. Furthermore, it builds on a sound understanding of the current (global) chal- lenges such as biodiversity loss, hunger and poverty, and the specific solution context of the (Sustainable) Bio-Economy and the Sustainable Development Goals. The research enterprise of this thesis begins with understanding what insects are from a biological point of view, how they contribute to the resilience of ecosystems (eco- system services), and how the (human) perception about insects evolved over time. It then continues with exploring insects in the context of academic research. Under- standing insects from different angles provides the tools to recognize where business opportunities about insects emerge. The data sources about business opportunities originated from multiple types of me- dia, including academic sources and secondary literature related to insects. To struc- ture discovered opportunities, the statistical classification of products by activity in the European Economic Community (acronym CPA) and specifically the nomencla- tures database RAMON was used. Each opportunity was assigned to a CPA – prod- ucts of activity (e.g. Products of Agriculture and Fishing), and subcategory (e.g. 01.4 _Live animals and animal products). As a result, seven CPAs and 23 subcategories could be identified and described. The sum of these CPAs is labeled as the ‘Insect Economy.’ It is understood as “a subset of innovative and sustainable products, processes, and services based on the use of insects as biological resources and which result from the Bio-Economy.” The most prominent CPA sections of the Insect Economy are (1) Products of Agriculture and Fishing, (2) Manufactured Products, and (3) Water Supply, Sewage; Waste Man- agement and Remediation Services. The findings related to the business opportunities in the Insect Economy set the fundament to characterize it in the form of a morphol- ogy. A morphology is useful to study the more general structural interrelations of concepts such as the ‘Insect Economy.’ The morphology of this thesis builds on its theoretic framework and an extensive literature research about insects as biological resources. It constitutes of categories, dimensions and features. Three overall categories - in- sects, economy, and sustainability – subdivide 21 dimensions and 141 corresponding features. Eight dimensions and 70 features alone relate to the category of ‘sustaina- bility’ which shows that the Insect Economy has remarkable sustainability qualities. These comprise among others contributions to ‘Sustainable Development Goals,’ and ‘Sustainable Business Drivers.’ Once the overall set of business opportunities of the Insect Economy and the mor- phology were determined (research object 1 completed), a subset of the business op- V Maria Real Perdomo THE INSECT ECONOMY portunities was selected to assess and classify business opportunities that show po- tential to foster sustainable development (research object 2). The focus was set on insects related to the food production system, namely insects as feed, food, pet food, and waste converters. The data for the assessment and classification were collected through qualitative interviews with (co-) founders and CEOs which are asked about their business models. The interview questions focused on eight dimensions of the morphology. Those are (1) Business Model Building Blocks, (2) Business Model Innovation Grid, (3) Sus- tainable Development Goals (2016-2030), (4) Global Challenges, (5) Sustainability from the Business Case Perspective, (6) Sustainable Business Drivers, (7) Diffusion Dynamics and (8) Risk Factors. For the data analysis, a computer-aided approach was applied, using MAXQDA software. The data synthesis of the eight dimensions revealed, among others, that the Insect Economy has potential to contribute to 13 out of 17 Sustainable Development Goals and that it is fueled by eight Sustainable Business Drivers. A particularly relevant dimension is that of the Business Model Innovation Grid. It is a practice-oriented tool which aims to inspire businesses to reconceive the way they operate and become more future proof (Bocken et al., 2014).