This master’s research investigates how Nordic cleantech firms exploit opportunities in emerging markets. Emerging markets showcase significant opportunities for provision of sustainable cleantech solutions, which can be exploited by cleantech firms to enhance their commercial viability. Opportunity exploitation studies in emerging market contexts have been largely understudied in international entrepreneurship. This qualitative research utilized semi-structured interviews, a multi case study design involving three Nordic cleantech firms, and thematic data analysis to collect detailed information on Nordic cleantech opportunity exploitation activities and stages. Analyzing the findings using a conceptual framework based on the opportunity exploitation theory, we discover that Nordic cleantech firms exploit opportunities in emerging markets in three phases namely, exploitation pre-operationalization phase, exploitation operationalization phase and exploitation post-operationalization phase. Exploitation pre-operationalization stages involve making evaluation of the opportunity, assessing stakeholders, and developing a project management plan for the exploitation operationalization; the exploitation operationalization phase covers the market entry modes, and describes activities and strategies deployed by cleantech firms to commence commercial activities within the market; and the exploitation post-operationalization phase describe steps taken to increase the firms’ knowledge and leverage such experiential knowledge for further opportunity exploitation. The research findings showed a variance from the theoretical opportunity exploitation propositions for new technology intensive firms including cleantech firms. The insights generated from this research have implications for the decision making of managers of Nordic cleantech firms looking to exploit international opportunities within emerging markets and theoretical implications for making further opportunity exploration studies considering the emerging market context.

Företaget TräEnergi Teknik AB säljer pelletskaminer. Försäljningen av produkten går inte så bra, men ägaren Carl-Axel Fagerström tycker att produkten borde vara efterfrågad av kunderna eftersom den är både miljövänlig och prisvärd. I denna rapport undersöks hur företaget kan ändra sina marknadsföringsstrategier för att nå ut till potentiella köpare. En enkätundersökning har gjorts hos återförsäljare för att ta reda på slutkundernas behov och önskemål. Ur undersökningen framgick att även om kunden är miljömedveten går priset alltid före. Det visade sig dessutom att kunderna de senaste åren börjat leta efter nya alternativ på grund av de kalla vintrarna och högre elpriserna. Vad gäller marknadsföring tyckte återförsäljarna att mässor, webbsidor, TV-reklam och annons i facktidningar är de bästa kanalerna. Kundernas kännedom om pelletskaminer varierar, att de väljs bort till fördel för värmepumpar handlar ofta om okunskap om produkten. Samtliga av respondenterna anser att det finns en potential i framtiden inom marknaden. För att Träenergi Teknik ska lyckas nå ut till den tilltänkta målgruppen krävs utvecklad marknadsföringsstrategi, detta kan göras genom att mer ingående arbeta mer med kanalstrategi. / The company TräEnergi Teknik AB sells wood/pellet stoves. Sales is not to good however, the owner Carl-Axel Fagerström thinks that the product ought to be more in demand since it is both environmental friendly and worth its price. This study will show how the company can change its market strategies to better reach the market and the potential customers. A survey was conducted among retailers to find out about the customers’ demands and requirements. The results of the survey showed that even though the customer is environmentally conscious, the price is always the decisive factor. The survey also showed that customers in recent years have started to look for new heating solutions due to the hard winters and higher electricity prices. Regarding how to market the product the retailers suggested fairs, web pages, TV commercials and advertizing as the best channels to do so. The customers’ knowledge of pellet stoves varies and the fact that heat pumps are chosen over pellet stoves most likely has to do with the lack of knowledge regarding pellet stoves. All the respondents think there is potential for a future market and to be able to reach their target group, TräEnergi Teknik needs a defined market strategy. This thesis will show that the best strategy is channel differentiation through retailers.

The field of study on coopetition has been given a growing emphasis in the recent years by researchers and business practice. Coopetition is a term integrating the notions of cooperation and competition happening as an intensive simultaneous process where actors seek to leverage the value created by other companies in their business network. These complex and paradoxical interactions are acknowledged as needing further research about the effects of coopetition and the different types of coopetitive interactions involved when firms coopete. The business network highlighted in the current study concerned the Swedish Cleantech industry. It offers an interesting ground as Sweden has been investing substantial amounts in environmental protection technologies. Moreover, SMEs in Sweden play an increasingly significant role in the national economy by their rapid technological development. Nonetheless, these SMEs battle to sustain opportunities and are facing many challenges such as lack of key resources, a limited market presence, and liabilities of newness. Thereby, collaboration is essential among Cleantech SMEs in order to overcome these challenges and sustain competitive advantages. This study sets out to fill this gap through the following objectives: by describing the cooperative and competitive activities happening of SMEs inside the Swedish Cleantech industry, by understanding how SMEs select their cooperative relationship with their competitors inside their business network, and by analyzing how coopetition can be implemented by SMEs as a strategy to develop sustainable competitive advantage. This research was conducted through a qualitative case study and semi-structured interviews of seven Swedish SMEs operating in the Cleantech industry. The findings underline that coopetition can be used as a matching strategy between the internal and the external environment of the firm. Further, before coopetition can lead to sustained competitive advantages, companies first need to develop societal advantages in the form of economic value, social value, and natural value.

The increasing pace of technological change is creating significant disruptions in the marketplace. In these markets, successfully managing innovation has become a key competitive advantage. Global trends of low-cost manufacturing and environmental sustainability have mademanufacturing innovations increasingly important. Many alternative manufacturing solutions are developed in not-for-profit institutions such as universities and research centers. This has created a gap between the owners of new technologies and the potential beneficiary of the technology. Correctly asserting if an invention or technology has commercial potential is a challengingprospect.What methods can be used to evaluate the commercial potential of a new technology? Whatimportant considerations and delimitations must be made to provide a reliable value estimation?How should the commercial potential be communicated to stakeholders, financiers andcustomers? If there is commercial potential, how do you successfully commercialize thetechnology? These themes are explored in this study. The question of how to estimate the value of a ninvention is investigated in the first section. Using a case-study approach and looking at a new manufacturing technology in the solar cell market an attempt to estimate the value is made. The results show that the innovation value can be estimated using a quantitative approach where benefits and costs are estimated using publicly available data. This approach was found to work well for technologies that are sustaining the current manufacturing paradigm but struggled to provide an accurate estimation for newer technologies. The process was found to require a diverse set of skills and to preferably be made by a co-founder team with technical and industry knowledge. The second section focuses on how an invention can be successfully commercialized. By interviewing firms who had developed and sold manufacturing innovations and were growing quickly. They were found to have started their companies together with their customers and having had a close working relationship with them throughout the process. Furthermore, they were found to have founding teams who were close friends prior to starting the company. The firms also stressed approved patents and timing of financing as key factors to their success. As technology transfer between universities and large industrial firms become increasingly important the questions of how researchers and inventors can commercialize their technologies will attract much attention. This study provides clear guidelines on how to approach the processof finding and commercializing new technologies from the perspective of the inventor.

Background: Three mega trends are profoundly changing today’s market dynamics; climate change, digitalization, and globalization. The increasing interconnectivity and omnipresence of digital technologies are blurring the boundaries of the physical and virtual reality, implying a shift in how digital companies create value and internationalize. Also, new policies and higher customer demand in greener and smarter technologies have created new opportunities for value creation to develop cleaner technologies that foster the growth of clean-technology firms. To be competitive and persist in a sustainable and digital economy, firms must be able to cope with changing market conditions. Strategic agility can support to avoid rigidity and benefit from change, which is fostered by strong dynamic capabilities. Knowledge gaps: The study aims to address shortcomings of digital sustainability business models and specifically characterize the emerging sector of sustainable software companies offering Cleantech-as-a-Service applications. The international potential of these ventures recognizes the need to elaborate on internationalization drivers. The globally competitive environment enforces the need to be strategically agile, whereby applying agile principles to an international context can bring a comprehensive view of internationalizing digital sustainability ventures’ critical capabilities and business model characteristics. The study will also assert the role of collaborative ecosystems in an entrepreneurial internationalization. Purpose: This study will explore the emergence of Cleantech-as-a-Service and investigate how these digital entrepreneurs achieve strategic agility in global pivoting and competitive environments. Our exploratory research aims to apply agile principles to entrepreneurial internationalization strategies, where we through six in-depth interviews will discover the role of digital cleantech firms’ dynamic business models, capabilities, and ecosystems when entering a foreign market. Theoretical framework: The conceptual frame of references is based on two major sections where the first considers the context of digital and sustainable firms and exhibits the essences of digital and sustainable business model designs and how to sustain competitiveness through the interrelation of dynamic capabilities and strategic agility. In the second section the study brings forward theory supporting the exploration of an agile internationalization for digital firms, such as virtual markets and ecosystems. The key theoretical forthcomings are summarized into a conceptual framework that combines the role and interplay of entrepreneurs, business models, as well as networks and ecosystems on the basis of strategic agility and dynamic capabilities, that jointly foster an agile and virtual internationalization. Methodology: The interpretive research used an explorative and abductive approach to perform a qualitative multiple case design. The empirical study was based on six Cleantech-as-a-Service companies where in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with the informants of significant positions. The thematic and content data analysis supported the identification of common patterns and themes through coding which guided the subsequent analysis chapter. Findings: Our study revealed characteristics and success factors of Cleantech-as-a-Service ventures operating on global volatile markets, which adopt a leagile approach. The findings supported a definition of the concept but also identified the dynamic capabilities and flexible business models leveraged to sustain international competitive agility. The key agile capabilities relate to networking, experimenting, and learning whereas business model characteristics confer resiliency, interdependency, and efficiency.

<p>In most business sectors environmental programs focus on direct, production-related environmental impacts. The design and development of products with reduced environmental impact is considered more difficult. The opposite applies in the environmental technology sector. The business model of environmental technology companies focuses on delivering solutions that contribute to improving the environmental performance of their customers. Products and services delivered by this sector have prominent environmental profiles. However, companies in this sector may not necessarily set and implement environmental goals for their own activities and manufacturing processes, and may not clearly distinguish between production and product related environmental aspects.</p><p>This thesis presents results of an online survey of environmental technology companies listed by the Swedish Environmental Technology Council (Swentec). The survey found that depending on the subsector, only between 21% and 45% of companies provide information about their environmental work on their website.</p><p>Environmental impacts of a company may be product and/or production related. The survey found that these dimensions are treated differently, and are not always clearly differentiated in environmental tools and guidelines, such as the ISO 14000 series, the Reporting Guidelines for UK Business, the GRI and The Swedish Annual Accounts (ÅRL). There are also differences in the ways that information about production and product related environmental impacts are considered within the environmental technology industry. Some companies clearly distinguish between product and activity related environmental issues, while others are unclear about the distinction between their products and their activities in environmental policies and management. While some companies in the sector limit the environmental information they disseminate to the environmental benefits of their products, others explicitly articulate that the predominantly product related environmental profiles in the sector drive them to additionally minimise environmental impacts of their own activities.</p><p>This thesis proposes environmental aspects of products and production as bases for corporate environmental profiles, corporate greening, and for defining ‘green’ and ‘green-green’ business, and concludes that companies within the environmental industry should be expected to be green-green business. This thesis concludes that companies within the environmental technology sector should increase their use of both production and product related environmental profile information in their presentations on their own websites and at platforms such as Swentec. Furthermore, the thesis shows that the use of the term ‘process’ within environmental technology sector to describe both the companies’ own operations and their products can create ambiguities in understanding. Companies that deliver ‘processes’ as products should avoid ambiguity by describing their own operations with terms such as ‘production processes’, ‘production’, ‘manufacturing process’, ‘operation’ or ‘activity’.</p> / <p>Ett företags miljöpåverkan kan vara kopplad till tillverkningsprocesser och till produkter. Miljöprogram inom de flesta industrisektorer är inriktade på direkta, produktionsrelaterade miljöaspekter. Däremot anses design och utveckling av produkter med minskad miljöpåverkan svårare. Inom miljötekniksektorn gäller det motsatta. Miljöteknikföretag erbjuder produkter och tjänster med framträdande miljöprofil och levererar lösningar som bidrar till förbättrad miljöprestanda hos deras kunder. Det betyder inte nödvändigtvis att dessa företag arbetar med miljömässiga mål för egna aktiviteter och tillverkningsprocesser, dvs. att dessa företag gör distinktion mellan tillverknings- och produktrelaterade miljöaspekter.</p><p> </p><p>Det övergripande syftet med avhandlingen är att öka förståelse av och insikt i miljöengagemang och miljöprofil inom miljöteknikföretag. Studien innehåller en onlineundersökning av miljöarbetet inom företag som är listade av Sveriges miljöteknikråd, Swentec i dess nätverk för den svenska miljöteknik­ sektorn. Studien visar att, beroende på undersektor, mellan 21 % och 45 % av företagen i undersökta miljöteknikområden har lagt ut information om sitt miljöarbete på företagets hemsida. Information om produktions- och produktrelaterade miljöfrågor varierar. Det finns företag som tydligt skiljer mellan produktorienterade miljöfrågor och miljöfrågor som berör deras tillverkningsprocesser och aktiviteter. Andra företag gör ingen tydlig åtskillnad mellan dessa frågor i sina miljöpolicydokument och miljöprogram. Vissa företag i branschen begränsar sin miljöinformation till miljömässiga fördelar med deras produkter. Det finns dock företag som tydligt uttalar att sektorns produktrelaterade miljöprofil är en drivkraft för att minimera miljöpåverkan från sin egen verksamhet.</p><p>I studien framkommer också att produktions- och produktrelaterade miljöaspekter behandlas på olika sätt, och är inte alltid tydligt differentierade i olika miljöverktyg och riktlinjer, som i ISO 14000 serien, Rapporteringsriktlinjer för UK Business, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) och i den svenska årsredovisningslagen (ÅRL).</p><p> </p><p>Produktions- och produktrelaterade miljöaspekter föreslås som dimensioner i ett företags miljöprofil och i beskrivning av företagets miljövänlighet. Det samma gäller som grund för definition av ’gröna’ och ’grön-gröna’ företag. En viktig ståndpunkt i denna avhandling är att företag inom miljötekniksektorn bör vara ’grön-gröna’ företag och att dessa företag bör öka användningen av informationen om produktions- och produktrelaterad miljöprofil, både på sina egna hemsidor och i sina presentationer inom nätverk som Swentec. Dessutom visar studien att användningen av begreppet "process" inom miljöteknikföretag för såväl den egna verksamheten som för sina produkter i vissa fall är otydlig. För att undvika denna oklarhet bör företag med ’processer’ som egna produkter, beskriva företagens egna verksamheter med begrepp som ’produktionsprocess’, ’produktion’, ’tillverkningsprocess’, ’aktiviteter’ eller liknande.</p>

In most business sectors environmental programs focus on direct, production-related environmental impacts. The design and development of products with reduced environmental impact is considered more difficult. The opposite applies in the environmental technology sector. The business model of environmental technology companies focuses on delivering solutions that contribute to improving the environmental performance of their customers. Products and services delivered by this sector have prominent environmental profiles. However, companies in this sector may not necessarily set and implement environmental goals for their own activities and manufacturing processes, and may not clearly distinguish between production and product related environmental aspects. This thesis presents results of an online survey of environmental technology companies listed by the Swedish Environmental Technology Council (Swentec). The survey found that depending on the subsector, only between 21% and 45% of companies provide information about their environmental work on their website. Environmental impacts of a company may be product and/or production related. The survey found that these dimensions are treated differently, and are not always clearly differentiated in environmental tools and guidelines, such as the ISO 14000 series, the Reporting Guidelines for UK Business, the GRI and The Swedish Annual Accounts (ÅRL). There are also differences in the ways that information about production and product related environmental impacts are considered within the environmental technology industry. Some companies clearly distinguish between product and activity related environmental issues, while others are unclear about the distinction between their products and their activities in environmental policies and management. While some companies in the sector limit the environmental information they disseminate to the environmental benefits of their products, others explicitly articulate that the predominantly product related environmental profiles in the sector drive them to additionally minimise environmental impacts of their own activities. This thesis proposes environmental aspects of products and production as bases for corporate environmental profiles, corporate greening, and for defining ‘green’ and ‘green-green’ business, and concludes that companies within the environmental industry should be expected to be green-green business. This thesis concludes that companies within the environmental technology sector should increase their use of both production and product related environmental profile information in their presentations on their own websites and at platforms such as Swentec. Furthermore, the thesis shows that the use of the term ‘process’ within environmental technology sector to describe both the companies’ own operations and their products can create ambiguities in understanding. Companies that deliver ‘processes’ as products should avoid ambiguity by describing their own operations with terms such as ‘production processes’, ‘production’, ‘manufacturing process’, ‘operation’ or ‘activity’. / Ett företags miljöpåverkan kan vara kopplad till tillverkningsprocesser och till produkter. Miljöprogram inom de flesta industrisektorer är inriktade på direkta, produktionsrelaterade miljöaspekter. Däremot anses design och utveckling av produkter med minskad miljöpåverkan svårare. Inom miljötekniksektorn gäller det motsatta. Miljöteknikföretag erbjuder produkter och tjänster med framträdande miljöprofil och levererar lösningar som bidrar till förbättrad miljöprestanda hos deras kunder. Det betyder inte nödvändigtvis att dessa företag arbetar med miljömässiga mål för egna aktiviteter och tillverkningsprocesser, dvs. att dessa företag gör distinktion mellan tillverknings- och produktrelaterade miljöaspekter.   Det övergripande syftet med avhandlingen är att öka förståelse av och insikt i miljöengagemang och miljöprofil inom miljöteknikföretag. Studien innehåller en onlineundersökning av miljöarbetet inom företag som är listade av Sveriges miljöteknikråd, Swentec i dess nätverk för den svenska miljöteknik­ sektorn. Studien visar att, beroende på undersektor, mellan 21 % och 45 % av företagen i undersökta miljöteknikområden har lagt ut information om sitt miljöarbete på företagets hemsida. Information om produktions- och produktrelaterade miljöfrågor varierar. Det finns företag som tydligt skiljer mellan produktorienterade miljöfrågor och miljöfrågor som berör deras tillverkningsprocesser och aktiviteter. Andra företag gör ingen tydlig åtskillnad mellan dessa frågor i sina miljöpolicydokument och miljöprogram. Vissa företag i branschen begränsar sin miljöinformation till miljömässiga fördelar med deras produkter. Det finns dock företag som tydligt uttalar att sektorns produktrelaterade miljöprofil är en drivkraft för att minimera miljöpåverkan från sin egen verksamhet. I studien framkommer också att produktions- och produktrelaterade miljöaspekter behandlas på olika sätt, och är inte alltid tydligt differentierade i olika miljöverktyg och riktlinjer, som i ISO 14000 serien, Rapporteringsriktlinjer för UK Business, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) och i den svenska årsredovisningslagen (ÅRL).   Produktions- och produktrelaterade miljöaspekter föreslås som dimensioner i ett företags miljöprofil och i beskrivning av företagets miljövänlighet. Det samma gäller som grund för definition av ’gröna’ och ’grön-gröna’ företag. En viktig ståndpunkt i denna avhandling är att företag inom miljötekniksektorn bör vara ’grön-gröna’ företag och att dessa företag bör öka användningen av informationen om produktions- och produktrelaterad miljöprofil, både på sina egna hemsidor och i sina presentationer inom nätverk som Swentec. Dessutom visar studien att användningen av begreppet "process" inom miljöteknikföretag för såväl den egna verksamheten som för sina produkter i vissa fall är otydlig. För att undvika denna oklarhet bör företag med ’processer’ som egna produkter, beskriva företagens egna verksamheter med begrepp som ’produktionsprocess’, ’produktion’, ’tillverkningsprocess’, ’aktiviteter’ eller liknande.

Syftet med detta projekt är att med hjälp av en materialinriktad designprocess skapa en produkt av biokompositmaterialet OrganoComp® för att demonstrera dess styrkor och möjligheter. Arbetet kommer att följa metoden ”Material Driven Design (MDD)”, vilket betyder att processen kommer att börja med en noggrann studie av materialet – dels tekniskt och ur ett användarcentrerat perspektiv, men även jämförelsemässigt mot andra material. Insikterna från dessa studier kommer sedan trattas ner och sammanfattas i en ”designintention” som ska sätta målet för designarbetet. Slutligen kommer ett antal koncept som uppfyller designintentionen arbetas fram, varav ett koncept – ett litet, ihopvikbart och nedbrytbart paraply/regnskydd kommer att väljas ut som det slutgiltiga. Paraplyet visar på materialets vattenavvisande egenskaper, i kombination med hårdhet och vikbarhet.  Målet med projektet är att skapa en demonstrator som även har potential att bli en användbar produkt i framtiden, och samtidigt ge företaget OrganoClick nya insikter och flera förslag på nya användningsområden för sitt material.

There is a need for cleaner technology initiatives into the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) market to combat the effects of climate change. The difficulty of these initiatives lies in their business model innovation process, as those organisations struggle in finding adequate strategies to establish their business in the BoP market. The BoP market is characterised as highly uncertain, which makes the operation of businesses challenging. Hereby the thesis aims at answering the question on how organisational learning occurs in business model innovation in the BoP market. Through a case study approach, the thesis intends to understand the requirements to establish a functioning business model by analysing organisational learning under business model innovation within the BoP market. This has been realised through a three week field study in Northern Mozambique, observing the market introduction of a cleantech company operating in this context. Hereby the business model innovation process and the environment of operation was analysed. This research contributes to the current discussion of business model innovation in BoP markets by detecting organisational learning as a useful mechanism and adding relevant insights on how organisational learning occurs in this specific context. Therefore the study opens the discussion on organisational learning in business model innovation in the context of the BoP market by asking for further studies on the topic.