Browsing by Subject "puutuhka"

The European Union has emphasized the usage of bioenergy by increasing the share of renewable energy in total energy consumption in its member states. The more biomass is utilized in energy production, the more biomass ashes are produced. Different ashes such as wood ash have been studied ecologically a lot, but more business and market research should be conducted on wood ash. The purpose of this study is to describe, analyze and interpret ash fertilization stakeholders´ perceptions of their external environment. The research questions are the following: 1) How do the ash fertilization stakeholders perceive their external environment? 2) What barriers hinder wood ash fertilization? 3) How is wood ash recycling perceived to influence the stakeholders´ external environment? 4) What kind of Environmental Scanning practices do the stakeholders have? This study is a qualitative study which employs the guided/focused interview method. The data consists of 18 interviews conducted in 15 organizations. The approach to the data is abductive. The data is processed, described and analyzed thematically. The ash fertilization stakeholders consider their environment complex and not fully developed. The waste tax act has influenced the structure of the market and worked as a major push-force. It has created various business models in the external environment, which have made some stakeholders adopt an unorthodox code of conduct within the external environment. Few fertilization-based companies operate on ash fertilization. Instead, most of the stakeholders emphasize wood ash utilization. The logistical challenges including the high transport and spreading costs were considered the most influential barrier hindering ash fertilization usage. However, the creation of economically sustainable business models and the incapability to create value to the customer hinder the development of the market, which weakens the competitiveness of ash fertilizers. Other barriers identified were the lack of suitable ashes for fertilization, the insufficient knowledge level of the buyers as well as poor marketing communications. There seems to be an entry barrier to the ash fertilization market, which consists of the low profitability of the ash fertilization business and the high knowledge requirements. Ash recycling was perceived positively by the stakeholders although their knowledge of the concept varied significantly. They connected ash recycling with either nutrient flows or ash utilization as a raw-material for various end-uses. The implementation of ash recycling was regarded as questionable since the stakeholders were uncertain about its effects on the external environment. They considered ash recycling to be influenced by the development of energy policies and legislation both in Finland and in the EU, which they found unpredictable. The stakeholders had difficulty defining ash recycling as a process and perceiving whether it is more connected with forest or energy industries. The majority of the stakeholders did not conduct Environmental Scanning (ES). Only four stakeholders conducted ES, although this perception is interpretive. The stakeholders were categorized in ES modes according to their perceptions of external environmental intrusiveness, analyzability as well as information needs, information seeking and information use. The degree of complexity of the external environment was found high and the rate of change was considered low. Altogether, there are two stakeholder groups operating in the external environment: 1) the market-oriented stakeholders and 2) the utilization/waste oriented stakeholders. The utilization view is currently more dominant, due to the developments in the ash fertilization market. The external environment is still under the stage of development, and there is possible future rivalry between the two views. Ash recycling could be a viable option combining wood ash utilization with business. More market-oriented stakeholders are needed in the ash fertilization market.