No abstract

Purpose-This paper investigates the criteria influencing the adoption of innovation in the empirical context of renewable residential energy solutions, particularly the wood pellet heating system. Design/methodology/approach-The study carried out an extensive literature review on Rogers' characteristics of innovation theory and then complemented it with a content analysis on empirically perceived characteristics on wood pellet heating systems. Findings-The literature review shows that most of the previous studies employ the characteristics of innovation but do not confirm the usability of the Rogers framework as a whole. In addition, our empirical results demonstrate that relative advantage is the predominant characteristic in the adoption of residential energy systems. Research limitations-The limitations of the literature review and the biases of empirical findings are discussed. For instance, there are limitations that the study is based on single country data and its theoretical approach relies on only one theory, Rogers' characteristics of innovation. Practical implications-In order to achieve sustainable strategic advantage, firms providing renewable energy solutions should attempt to communicate clearly the relative advantages instead of attempting to, for instance, offer an opportunity for trialling such green energy systems. Originality/value-The paper highlights the use of characteristics of innovation and further empirically examines the perceived characteristics of an innovation considering green investments in residential heating systems. Due to the exploratory nature of the study, the results provide a gateway to a number of possible avenues for future research.

No abstract

The large potential of bio-energy technologies remains untapped, and awaits exploitation. To compete successfully against rivals, suppliers have to design innovation characteristics of offerings that potential customers can value. The purpose of the study is to address the issue of the characteristics of innovation and thereby contribute to the existing literature in two ways: investigating the existing body of knowledge and examining the perceived characteristics of an innovation to analyze the value for the customer within the context of green investments. The study considers how to classify the perceived adoption criteria according to the innovation characteristics in order to analyze the value for the customer within the context of green technology investment. The results, based on content analysis, indicate that different characteristics seem to have several patterns in assessing the adoption of wood pellet heating systems. Especially, some characteristics of innovation have only limited value in assessing the adoption of a long-term green investment. Further, the findings provide several practical implications of how the value for the customer of green technology investments can be promoted as well as gateways for future studies.

Climate change have highlighted the potential for bioheating solutions, including wood pellet technologies. This study investigates the development phase of the technology regarding wood pellets. We use the technology life cycle indicators as a proxy for the development phase but also compare those results to the actual historical development of the technology. In addition, we analyze the wood pellets' geographical differences by looking at the different countries' publishing activity on wood pellets. The results show that the number of publications has increased significantly in the 21 st century. This indicates the accelerating growth of development in the current technology. In addition, concentration of wood pellet publishing is substantial with two countries dominating the engineering publishing activity.