Market Entry and Adoption Dynamics in the Emerging Cleantech Sector

Abstract

Much of the growth in the emerging cleantech sector has been fueled by entrepreneurial entry and technology adoption in the marketplace; in turn driven by a complex combination of political, economic, technological and socio-cultural factors. For example, a growing number of state and federal legislations have been implemented to encourage and facilitate the adoption of clean technologies by both businesses and consumers. In a similar vein, significant amounts of both public and private funding have been invested in startup firms seeking to develop and commercialize cleantech solutions. And concurrently, a number of private actors such as environmental groups and social movement organizations have gained increasing voice in the face of growing public environmental concerns, delegitimizing existing industrial practices while simultaneously creating opportunities for entrepreneurs. Hence in its current state, the Cleantech sector serves as an exemplar of a nascent but emerging sector, whose entry and growth dynamics are driven by a complex combination of actors. The four empirical papers in this symposium, all examine topics pertaining to entry dynamics in this sector from different theoretical perspectives. Venture Capital Firms’ Investment Trajectories in the Emerging Cleantech Sector. Presenter: Anu Wadhwa; Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Presenter: Xin Yao; U. of Colorado, Boulder Presenter: Antoaneta Petkova; San Francisco State U. The Effects of Organizational Identity on Firm Entry into Movement- Driven Markets Presenter: Shon R Hiatt; Harvard U. Presenter: W. Chad Carlos; Brigham Young U. The Geography of Entrepreneurship in the Emerging Cleantech Sector. Presenter: Siddharth Vedula; U. of Colorado, Boulder Presenter: Jeffrey G. York; U. of Colorado, Boulder Social Movement Intervention in Cleantech Industry Development Presenter: Desiree F. Pacheco; Portland State U. Presenter: Theodore Andrew Khoury; Portland State U.