From September 21, 2021 to September 21, 2021

Seminar - Theresia Harrer

Theresia Harrer will present a paper linked to the new partnership between the GreenFin Hub of Middlesex University and the Granem.

Title: Reducing early stage Cleantech Funding Gaps: A closer Look at the Role of Environmental Performance Indicators

Abstract: It is well established that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a key role in the transition to a low carbon economy. Their innovative potential as well as their strong ties to customers and the community make them an essential partner in convincing people to change their behaviour and adopt new, more sustainable lifestyles. However, SMEs – in particular those that aim to develop clean technology innovations – struggle to attract financing. This paper examines how the communication of the Cleantech value proposition via Environmental Performance Indicators (EPIs) shapes information asymmetries that contribute to early stage cleantech venture (‘Cleantech’) funding gaps. Focusing on the UK Cleantech finance market, we qualitatively analyze the interplay of entrepreneurial finance actors operating at the intersection of the stakeholder triple nexus (STN) where Cleantechs, investors and market supporters (policymakers and support agencies) converge to fund early stage Cleantech SMEs. We extract three actor roles – the lonely wolf, the developer and the boundary spanner – and outline how their efforts in developing EPIs currently shape the Cleantech value proposition and the Cleantech financing ecosystem. Our findings highlight how the more powerful lonely wolves exacerbate the Cleantech financing issues, and how the underrecognized boundary spanners can promote an effective Cleantech financing ecosystem. We therefore propose that government needs to support boundary spanners in their efforts to harmonize the Cleantech value proposition.

September 21st, from 1PM-2PM in the "Salle du Conseil" - DEG