Innovation Nirvana or Innovation Wasteland? Identifying commercialization strategies for small and medium renewable energy enterprises

A conceptual framework for determining the appropriate choice of commercialization strategies when evaluating the market environment for Renewable Energy Technology (RET) is presented. A comprehensive review of the literature dealing with technology innovation and commercialization strategies was undertaken to identify suitable theoretical constructs and empirical support from which to develop the framework. The principal claim of this research is that commercialization of innovation in RET is influenced by two important market dimensions; RET demand (market-pull) and eco-sophistication of the market (technology-push). Measures are determined for each of these market dimensions and four distinct commercialization environments are identified; Innovation Wasteland, Innovation Push, Innovation Pull and Innovation Nirvana. Each of these environments impacts the choice of commercialization strategies. A k-means cluster analysis is employed using member countries of the OECD and emerging economies, such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC), to illustrate the use of this framework in addressing the choice of commercialization strategy to be employed in these jurisdictions. This study results in a diverse distribution of OECD and BRIC countries across all of the identified commercialization environments. These findings have implications for small and medium RET firms, investors and energy policy makers.

► A conceptual framework for commercializing Renewable Energy Technology (RET) is developed. ► Commercialization in RET is influenced by RET demand and eco-sophistication of the market. ► Four distinct commercialization environments are identified. ► A k-means cluster analysis is employed to illustrate the use of this framework. ► There is a distribution of countries across all of the identified commercialization environments.