From atoms to bits: Resource mobilization of non-digital, hybrid, and digital cleantech startups

Abstract

Climate change is one of the most critical challenges to tackle in this century, where innovations developed and commercialized by cleantech startups are crucial contributors to achieve emission reduction targets. Entrepreneurship scholars have long presumed that resource mobilization is essential for startups to transit successfully through the conception and commercialization life cycle stages. Yet, we have a limited understanding of how resource mobilization varies across the three startups types of non-digital, hybrid – an intermediate type of non-digital and digital startups –, and digital cleantech startups. Drawing on insights from 16 semi-structured interviews with startups, investors, and industry experts in the U.S. cleantech industry, as well as secondary data, this study provides a novel framework that identifies the resource mobilization approaches of cleantech startups disentangled by the three startup types. The findings indicate that non-digital cleantech startups face the most severe resource mobilization challenges, followed by hybrid and digital cleantech startups, respectively. The study contributes to the literature on resource mobilization of cleantech startups and digital entrepreneurship. It also outlines implications for startups and venture capital investors as practitioners as well as for policymakers.