Understanding Early Innovation Processes in Sustainable Energy Transformation through a Stakeholder Theory Lens

Abstract

This study investigates how the early stages of the innovation process unfold in collaborative energy transition projects. This is done by understanding how innovation opportunities are identified, how ideas are generated and what factors enable and constrain collaborative innovation projects within this context. Drawing on a qualitative multi-case study design, including twelve interviews across three cases in Western Sweden, complemented by an expert interview. The theoretical framework combines open innovation and stakeholder theory, connected through knowledge management. The findings reveal that opportunity identification combines active preparation with responsiveness to external conditions, where opportunities emerge when external triggers connect with internalised needs. Organisational type and identity function as decisive filters for what is perceived as relevant and actionable and environmental scanning is consistently person-dependent and displaced by operational demands. Idea generation is characterised by iterative refinement of existing knowledge, concentrated among few individuals. Cross-sector knowledge transfer emerges as a mechanism in rapidly evolving technological domains. External actors involvement is indispensable but structurally challenging as the capacity and readiness to contribute varies among partners. Several enabling and constraining factors emerged from the findings. Genuine need and contextually specific trust are foundational prerequisites, and individual drive is the most consistently enabling factor. External timing is critical but largely beyond organisational control which can therefore act as an enabling or constraining factor depending on context. The gap between partners’ initial commitment and their actual behaviour is a structural feature of collaborative innovation that constrains collaboration. The study extends the application of open innovation and stakeholder theory to collaborative energy transition contexts, contributing several empirical findings that existing frameworks do not explicitly address.