RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR DEVELOPMENT IN BULGARIA – AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR DEVELOPMENT IN BULGARIA – AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Summary/Abstract: The main purpose of the article is to analyze the emergence and development of the renewable energy industry with a special focus on the relevant institutional environment as well as the interaction between actors and institutions.The technological innovation systems framework is adopted to explain the evolution of wind and photovoltaic industries in Bulgaria, a country-follower in terms of renewable energy technology development and implementation.It is argued, that the capacity of the receiving country for organizational and institutional alignment is a key in the case of technology innovation adoption from pioneer countries to subsequent markets.Although the role of the institutions is considerably emphasized in system innovation studies, the literature lacks on conceptual framework for the assessment of their impact and dynamics.The ambiguity of the institutional concept across scholars increases the complexity of the analytical task.The understanding of the institutional term adopted in the current analysis as sets of rules, norms and values clearly separates it from the concept of organizations, actors and networks. However, since institutions are shaped, maintained or disrupted by actors, their influence on the evolution of the technology innovation systems is directly linked to agency in the system.

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