Analysis of Innovative Environmental Technologies: Marketing Strategies Based on Vertical Photobioreactors

Abstract

: Massive increase in the problems associated with urban sustainability requirements requires incorporation of technology innovations, which offer carbon sequestration capacity, biomass production, and aesthetic outcome. The example of this solution is vertical photobioreactor (VPBR); however, its commercialisation on a large scale is limited due to its fragmented marketing strategy and low consumer awareness. The study at hand poses the questions of this interface between high-tech biotechnological design and strategic marketing and explores the processes related to how the VPBR inventions find translation in emergent green markets and in what ways they are understood. The mixed-methods approach including a systematic literature review, semi-structured interviews with individuals working in the industry, and a structured questionnaire to 150 sustainability and marketing specialists was taken. In a complementary manner, empirical criteria such as comparative case studies of three companies that have employed VPBR were relied upon to enable a critical evaluation of the company performance and market outreach. The results show that although 74 % of the respondents think that VPBRs hold the potential of an ecologically consistent solution, the market was ready to realize this with only 38 % answers. Based on empirical evidences, it has been further established that companies pursuing narrative-driven, consumer-centric strategies, especially digital storytelling and community based engagements, recorded a rate of adoption that was more than three times higher than those that were only driven by technical specifications. These findings demonstrate the necessity to synchronise the innovation of technology with people-oriented communication. It seems that interdisciplinary cooperation, favourable regulation, and targeted consumer education are the conditions under which the efforts toward effective marketisation of VPBRs can be successful; future research needs to focus on the identification of the psychological underpinnings of sustainable adoption, expand modelling to a long-term scale and develop policy measures that will enable the upscaling of green innovations.