Qualitative Stakeholder Analysis for a Swedish Regional Biogas Development: A Thematic Network Approach

Komalsingh Rambaree, Agneta Sundström, Zhao Wang and Sandra Ann Ingela Wright
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Komalsingh Rambaree: Department of Social Work and Criminology, University of Gävle, 801 76 Gävle, Sweden
Agneta Sundström: Department of Business and Economic Studies, University of Gävle, 801 76 Gävle, Sweden
Zhao Wang: Department of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science, University of Gävle, 801 76 Gävle, Sweden
Sandra Ann Ingela Wright: Department of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Gävle, 801 76 Gävle, Sweden

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 14, 1-20

Abstract: The creation of pathways toward a societal transition to clean energy requires the engagement of multiple stakeholders with different and sometimes conflicting interests. In this connection, stakeholder analysis (SA) offers a technique for identifying, assessing and structuring different needs, interests and concerns related to different stakeholders within the context of sustainability. This article aims to present the findings from a qualitative stakeholder analysis (QSA) by using a thematic network approach (TNA), with the help of the ATLAS.ti software. It focuses on Project X, which was aimed at engaging multiple stakeholders and creating favorable conditions for small and medium-sized companies in a region situated in the central part of Sweden, with the potential to start biogas production. In this work, the findings and discussions of the QSA using TNA are structured by using the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal (PESTEL) themes of the model. The present study concludes that for the small-scale biogas industry to successfully develop an understanding of the possibilities of the biogas value chain, it is necessary to have analyzed the nature of the main themes by which various stakeholders relate to biogas production and envision their contribution to creating a sustainable society. Herein, we demonstrate that QSA by a TNA, combined with the application of a PESTEL model, are valuable analytical tools in sustainable project management. The lessons from Project X can be applied to other local biogas initiatives, as many identified threats and opportunities are shared by others.

Keywords: biogas; energy; PESTEL; qualitative stakeholder analysis; thematic network approach (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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