New industries and sustainable development: Wind energy industry development in different contexts.

摘要

During the last few decades, the world has seen the emergence of several new industries that claim their sustainable development nature, such as organic farming or ecotourism. In the energy sector, sustainable industries (those related to renewable energies), could provide a way out of the emerging impasse between the growing demand for energy and the desire to protect our environment and quality of life. However, it is still not quite clear why organizations would be interested in developing renewable energies within a business environment dominated by fossil fuels that are still cheaper.; In spite of its relevancy, only a few academic studies have analyzed the phenomenon of industry emergence focusing on the entire industry instead of either firms or societies. This lack of focus on sustainable industries is a missing level of analysis, and therefore a research platform to be explored (Russo, 2003).; This study seeks to explain the establishment of the wind power industry in different contexts. Denmark, Alberta/Canada, Costa Rica, and Ecuador were selected as the jurisdictions to study wind power development. Each of the selected cases was experiencing a different level of development of their wind power industries.; Therefore, this dissertation is a multi-case study that will analyze the development of the wind power industry and contribute to meet the need for more research at the industry level. In addition, this study will open opportunities for further research on how sustainable industries can be a part of sustainable development processes at the macro-level. This study will incorporate a set of factors to explain why and how a wind power industry emerges under different contexts. In addition to the traditional economic-competitive approach, the research will include macro-economic components, project-specific factors, and several institutional factors in order to determine the successful startup of the new industry.; Contributions from this dissertation will be related to four theoretical streams: national competitiveness, sustainable development, innovation literature, and institutional theory. In addition to the contributions to the management literature, the thesis will present implications for both business managers and government decision-makers. Directions for further research will be also included.