Yasser Al-Saleh

A Critical Review of the Interplay between Policy Instruments and Business Models: Greening the Built Environment a Case in Point

Policy instruments introduced with the aim of promoting environmental sustainability are often designed and evaluated in terms of their impact in facilitating technological change. The bulk of ‘green’ policy instruments that have emerged in recent decades have had as their target the facilitation of the development and adoption of greener processes, goods and services. Concurrent business models have sought to create and capture value arising from this policy-induced transition to more environmentally sustainable practices. However, both such policy instruments and the business models are often evaluated more in terms of their impact on the development and adoption of innovations, and less in terms of their impact on behavioural change. This paper provides a critical review of interplay between green policy instruments and green business models from a behavioural perspective. Thus, instead of looking at policy instruments from a technology-push and demand-pull perspective, this paper samples them in terms of sticks, carrots and sermons and then provides a critical review of the emergent business models that have emerged in response to stick-, carrot-, and sermon-types of policy regimes. The paper finds that most green business models that emerged, in the built environment, in response to sticks may be characterised as buck-passing, i.e. passing costs to others and skirting around the stick of regulations; those that emerged in response to carrots as opportunistic carpet-bagging aimed at capturing temporary gains; while those that emerged in response to sermon-orientated awareness campaigns, show a tendency to diffuse even in the absence of supportive fiscal conditions.

Carbon capture and storage State of play, challenges and opportunities for the GCC countries

Purpose – The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have consistently ranked high in per capita carbon emissions, not to mention the fact that a lifestyle with a high ecological footprint in a fragile ecosystem can affect the regional environment, prosperity and social stability. The adoption of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the GCC countries has been consistently gaining attention, as it is widely seen as a suitable mitigation measure, particularly in a region where heavy industry and geological exploitation have led to wealth and prosperity. Additionally, making captured CO2 available for enhanced oil recovery is expected to create significant economic value. However, the lack of a coordinated environmental regulation regime to cap future carbon emissions is posing significant risks for further CCS development. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach – This paper reviews the state of play with regard to CCS in the GCC region and investigate the opportunities and chall...

Measuring Innovation Efficacy: An Operational Framework for Mapping and Measuring Innovation Capacity and Performance of Countries

In an increasingly globalised economy, the ability to draw in innovations and ideas from elsewhere and build on them to create value at home has become a powerful facility for economic growth. Since some places are better at adopting and adapting borrowed ideas than others, the process of ‘innovation through adoption’ deserves more attention at both scholarly and policymaking levels. Based on such beliefs, this paper elaborates the notion of ‘innovation adoption’ and develops it further to advance the notion of ‘innovation efficacy’. The latter is interpreted here as the efficiency and effectiveness of innovation systems in terms of accessing, anchoring, diffusing, creating and exploiting innovations. This notion is further illustrated in a measurement tool based on a composite index, which we name the ‘Innovation Efficacy Index’. The ultimate contribution of the paper lies in its aim to shift the traditional focus of attention from a fixation with developing and exploiting new knowledge locally to the prospect of value creation through accessing, anchoring or diffusing knowledge acquired from elsewhere.

Innovation dynamics of sustainability journeys for hydrocarbon-rich countries

This paper examines the innovation dynamics of sustainability transitions within hydrocarbon-rich countries, with a particular emphasis upon the emerging solar industries in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In order to examine the dynamics within the current Saudi and UAE energy system and subsequently assess its potential for supporting the successful establishment of sizeable solar energy industries, a list of five structural elements and seven system functions has first been compiled from the innovation literature. Next, a comparative assessment is conducted with regard to how well each of these elements and functions is currently fulfilled in both industries. Not only does the paper reveal a number of ominous signs of structural and functional related challenges, it also provides policy orientated recommendations that have the potential to support a transition towards a sustainable future within such oil-rich countries.

Place Branding and Place Surrogacy: The Making of the Masdar Cluster in Abu Dhabi

The literature on cluster development almost unanimously regard ‘clusters’ as the co-location of businesses along a supply-chain ultimately culminating in the territorial concentration of certain economic activities. This paper presents a different strategy of cluster development, the renewable energy cluster in Abu Dhabi known as Masdar, which is based on the twin-strategy of ‘Place Branding’ and ‘Place Surrogacy’. The Masdar experience presents an interesting approach to cluster development that involves planting the seeds of a local renewables industry overseas (through making investment and engaging in worldwide place branding activities) whilst preparing the minds and ground for its eventual transplantation back home when conditions for the transfer are suitable. Such a ‘spin-in’ based surrogacy model of cluster development, which is yet to prove its success, differs from the conventional wisdom with regard to the importance of both start-up and spin-offs during cluster emergence.

Demand-led Related Diversification: Green Construction in the GCC as a Prospective Case

Economic diversification is high on the governmental agenda of many natural resourcebased economies. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region is a case in point, as the governments there are making substantial investments in high-tech industries such as semiconductors, the aerospace industry and clean energy technologies. Diversification towards knowledge-based economies, particularly those spurred by technological innovation, has become a prominent objective for all governments of the region. Since these sectors are at present almost absent, governmental plans have focused largely on the supply side, particularly in making the necessary investments in high-tech industries and clusters. This paper argues that little attention has been paid by the GCC governments to the role of the ‘demand side’ in driving economic diversification and industrial renewal. Most efforts have, so far, focused on creating new industries from scratch as opposed to building on existing capabilities. This paper brings together the notions of demand-led innovation and related variety to suggest a new economic diversification policy model for the GCC region, namely ‘demand-led related diversification’ (DLRD). It does that through examining the case of the burgeoning green construction industry. More specifically, the paper argues that the green construction industry presents an attractive opportunity to drive economic diversification through a DLRD policy model. Using insights from the field of innovation studies in general and demand-led innovation in particular, the paper suggests that the green construction industry has a strong potential to become the main vehicle for economic diversification and industrial renewal in the region, provided that the GCC governments adopt demand-led innovation strategies.

Challenges and opportunities for the emerging carbon capture, utilisation and storage innovation system in the United Arab Emirates

Beginning 2006, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has embarked on the carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) sector to enhance its oil production through enhanced oil recovery whilst sealing future carbon-dioxide emissions in geological formations. We apply the systems of innovation framework to assess the innovation related performance within the emerging CCUS sector in the UAE. We determine that the lack of CCUS related regulations, limited financial and human resources poses significant challenges for development of the CCUS sector. Findings from this study could offer policymakers relevant insights into how best to develop the CCUS sector in the GCC region.