Do Biomass Technology Innovations Improve Subjective Well-Being? Traditional versus Improved Cookstoves in Uganda

Irene Namugenyi (), Stale Navrud, Joachim Scholderer and Sarah Tione
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Irene Namugenyi: School of Economics and Business, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Chr. Magnus Falsens Vei 18, NO-1433 Ås, Norway
Joachim Scholderer: School of Economics and Business, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Chr. Magnus Falsens Vei 18, NO-1433 Ås, Norway

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 4, 1-14

Abstract: This study investigates the dark side of biomass technology innovations on households’ subjective well-being (SWB) in Uganda. The dark side of biomass technology innovations concerns households moving away from the intangible cultural cooking heritages that they have preserved for a long time. These intangible cultural cooking heritages are important to understand as they contribute to policy decisions on sustainable society transformation (sustainability transitions) in the clean cooking energy sector. This study adds to the scarce literature on innovation for well-being and innovation for transformative change, addressing grand societal challenges while considering the well-being of technology users. Principal component analysis was used to generate the subjective well-being variable from the captured traditional household cooking considerations, perceptions, and practices. Linear regression was used to analyze the effect of improved cookstoves (ICSs) and other factors on the subjective well-being of households in Uganda. The results show that using ICSs moves Ugandan households away from traditional ways of cooking, which reduces the well-being they attach to the intangible cultural heritage of traditional cooking. Thus, innovators, entrepreneurs and promoters of clean cooking technologies should consider the well-being of users along with the benefits of bioenergy innovation to accelerate society transformation (sustainability transitions) in Uganda.

Keywords: dark side of innovation; subjective well-being; innovation for well-being; improved cookstoves; intangible cultural cooking heritages; sustainability transitions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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