Key Growth Factors and Limitations of Photovoltaic Companies in Poland and the Phenomenon of Technology Entrepreneurship under Conditions of Information Asymmetry

Bartosz Wachnik,Zbigniew Chyba

doi:10.3390/en14248239

Abstract

Nowadays photovoltaic trade in Poland is growing rapidly due to contemporary challenges in sustainable energy. The first Polish photovoltaic firms were established in the second decade of XXI century. It was the answer of looking for new innovative energy sources including solar energy. It was necessary to change the structure of energy sources in Poland mainly based on carbon and oil & gas. The aim of this article was the identification and assessment the key opportunities and barriers to photovoltaic industry enterprises in Poland in the context of technology entrepreneurship under conditions of information asymmetry. The paper was prepared based on the results of qualitative research using the case study method. A comparative analysis was performed based on results of a study of four purposefully selected enterprises. All of them are SMEs. The research was done in 2021. The case study method allowed for comparing the analysed enterprises in pairs, which is discussed more extensively further on in the text. The research performed will lead to conclusions and recommendations for the photovoltaic sector enterprises in Poland which will allow them to act more effectively and efficiently in conditions of competing on the global market. This paper contains the characteristics of photovoltaic trade in Poland, its macro and micro environment, the opportunities and threats of this trade and key strengths and weaknesses of characterized photovoltaic enterprises in Poland. Finally, the conclusion and recommendations of discussed Polish photovoltaic trade firms in future are evaluated.

Highlights

The paper was prepared based on the results of qualitative research using the case study method
The establishment and growth of photovoltaics sector enterprises is the effect of the technology entrepreneurship undertaken by their founders and the entire organizations which skillfully utilize the key element of technology opportunity that appears in their surroundings to create and implement new technology solutions
The aim of this paper is to identify and evaluate key development prospects and barriers for photovoltaic sector enterprises in Poland in the context of technology entrepreneurship under conditions of information asymmetry

Summary

Introduction

Demand for renewable energy sources is growing rapidly in today’s world [1,2] This is a global phenomenon pertaining to most countries, including those that belong to the European Union. It is true in Poland, whose structure of energy sources is especially unfavorable in the context of the sustainable development concept being followed currently as well as the ever-widening use of so-called “green energy” [3]. One of responses to these challenges has been the development of the photovoltaic sector in Poland, characterized by a high rate of growth compared to other European Union countries’ [4]. The sector’s development in Poland is largely determined by external factors, both positive (opportunities) and negative (threats, including development barriers)

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