From opportunities to action - An integrated model of small actors’ engagement in bioenergy business

Abstract

Abstract The promotion of entrepreneurial activities and establishment of SMEs to strengthen national competitiveness has accelerated the examination of the business opportunities offered by cleaner technologies, such as bioenergy solutions. Finland is one of the countries which seek new ways for economic growth by boosting e.g. the growth of bioeconomy, and the rural areas in the country are considered as fertile ground for the growth of grassroot-level innovations related to bioenergy. However, the growth does not happen without suitable incentives for bioenergy business development. Thus, it is reasonable to examine the factors which have an influence on the decisions the actors in these rural regions make. In the paper, an integrated model is constructed to widen the knowledge of the process from the discovery of an entrepreneurial opportunity to actual business engagement. This is done by introducing the entrepreneurial process and utilizing the process in conjunction with two widely used theories: the Technology Acceptance Model and the Theory of Planned Behavior. The model offers an opportunity to observe the impact of different enablers and barriers on new business engagement, as they can be related to certain phases of the entrepreneurial process and certain environmental levels surrounding the individual actors. In the empirical study, an integrated model is reasoned in the context of small actors’ engagement in bioenergy by examining the business opportunities offered by biogas production from animal manure. The constructed model is meant to assist in the promotion of entrepreneurial intentions, and that way also to advance the fulfillment of national targets for bio-based economy and SME development.