Biomass – a Resource for Sustainability? A Literature Review of Business Models

• The research on business model innovation in certain business energy sectors is limited. This paper, which reviews the business model literature in the biomass energy sector, identifies trends as well as challenges and complications in the use of biomass. We used seven data bases to search for relevant international, peer-reviewed research on business models and biomass. In our initial database search, we identified 287 relevant articles published in the years 1990 to 2020. After elimination of duplicate articles, we had a collection of 170 articles. We used Zotero software to refine our search. After application of our criteria, 146 articles remained. Further analysis reduced our review to 95 articles that had a theoretical focus on business models and biomass. Our review presents various data for the articles including author affiliation by country, article publication date, article title, journal of publication, journal impact factor, country of empirical data, unit of analysis. research methodology, and topics addressed. Additionally, our review reveals trends (e.g., research/practice challenges and implications) in the study of business models and the biomass energy sector as reflected in the reviewed articles. To our knowledge, this is the first literature review of peer-reviewed journal articles on business models and the biomass industry. By limiting our final review to the 95 theoretical articles we identified, we provide researchers and practitioners with sources of recent discussions and analyses on the trends, challenges, and implications related to the use of biomass in energy production.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Business model

value building blocks

biomass

literature review

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)