Elisenda Jové-Llopis

The transition to a greener economy requires firms to develop specific organizational capabilities and skills. This involves transforming production processes and restructuring human resources. However, the lack of these skills and capabilities could lead to a bottleneck problem (difficult to overcome) for organizations. Our purpose is to focus on the needs of European SMEs to transit into greener activities. We first identify the drivers behind firms' capability shortages and then, we investigate how this shortage impacts their efforts to become greener and the strategies, both internal and external, to address these skills shortages. Using data from more than 13,000 companies from Flash Eurobarometer Survey 537, our results show that firms face significant difficulties in finding the appropriate skills required. This is a complex issue, primarily affecting those at vocational education levels and driven by a variety of factors. The availability of specific technical skills plays a crucial role within SMEs in mitigating their negative impacts on the environment.

This article analyses regional drivers and barriers regarding the implementation of circular economy actions carried out at the European Union level. Using data from Flash Eurobarometer 498, we gather regional data on circular economy actions taken by firms in European regions in 2021. We analyse drivers and barriers from this dataset by focusing on both existent spatial heterogeneity and the perspectives of the engagement in these actions. Our results shed some light on the identification of regional contexts that may boost/restrict the implementation of circular economy strategies.

This chapter concerns regional drivers of, and barriers to, circular economy actions conducted at the EU level. Using data from Flash Eurobarometer 498, the authors gather regional data on circular economy actions taken by firms in European regions in 2021. They analyse regional drivers and barriers from this dataset by focusing on both existent spatial heterogeneity and the perspectives of the engagement in these actions. Their results help in the identification of regional contexts that may boost/restrict the implementation of circular economy strategies.

Climate change and the ongoing energy transition can increase energy poverty rates. To date, the main tool employed to alleviate energy poverty has involved income transfers to vulnerable households. However, measures that seek to improve a home’s energy efficiency have recently gained increasing relevance. In this study we assess the effectiveness of these two types of policy, assuming universal coverage and optimal behaviour. Results points that income transfers and energy efficiency measures have the potential to decrease the proportion of households in energy poverty; however, the magnitude of their respective effects differs greatly. The average impact of energy efficiency measures provides for a greater reduction in energy poverty rates than income transfer policies. Although the greatest reduction in energy poverty is obtained by combining both measures, this combination of tools leads to overlapping effects with income transfers making only a marginal contribution once total retrofit have been implemented.

Purpose: Within the framework of EU policies and measures to develop a just and fair green energy transition model. This paper aims to offer valuable insights into a paramount concern not so well debated in the literature, i.e. the spatial variation of energy poverty. Design/methodology/approach: This empirical analysis investigates the regional variation of energy poverty we draw on a sample of more than 300,000 Spanish households, extracted from the Spanish Household Budget Survey (HBS) for the period 2006–2022. To characterize the probability of a household finding itself in a situation of energy poverty the authors use a discrete choice univariate probit model. Findings: The results confirm that energy poverty is a phenomenon that is asymmetrically distributed across Spain, and mainly occurs in un-densely populated regions. In addition, the findings demonstrate that the incidence of energy poverty drivers is highly heterogeneous across regions. Research limitations/implications: The paper ends with some recommendations for policymakers suggesting that countries need to design an energy poverty policy for the households that jointly pursue both a correct identification of vulnerable groups and a match with the type of measure to the characteristics of each region. Originality/value: This study enhances previous research by considering the case of areas at a lower level of aggregation (i.e. on the NUTS two regions in Spain called autonomous communities) and offers the opportunity to tailor policies to those regions most in need. Furthermore, to provide a more realistic picture of the complex phenomenon of energy poverty, the authors use the information for the period 2006–2022 differentiating by economic micro-cycle. This timespan allows the authors to understand the dynamics of energy poverty in periods of economic crisis, including the effects of the 2008 crisis and the present global energy crisis.

In recent years, scholars have highlighted the role of cities as incubators for start‐ups. Several studies identify the city of Barcelona as one of the major hubs in Europe for start‐up creation, especially in emergent industries. The present paper examines how local attributes, proximity to the elements of an entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE), and to nearby economic activity, influence the location of ambitious start‐ups in Barcelona between 2012 and 2015. To do this, we use micro‐geographic data of Barcelona start‐ups provided by the Catalan Government (ACCIÓ) and open data on the socioeconomic composition of Barcelona neighbourhoods from the Statistics Department of the Council of Barcelona. By dealing with neighbouring effects and endogeneity, our results suggest that localisation economies and proximity to the elements of the EE are the key factors attracting start‐ups to Barcelona's neighbourhoods. These results are crucial in helping policymakers understand the locational factors of start‐ups within the city.

The concept of the circular economy (CE) is currently gaining impetus as a way to move towards sustainable, low‐carbon, resource‐efficient, and competitive economies. However, despite the potential benefits of CE activities, their implementation remains relatively rare. We use a cross‐sectional survey of European small and medium‐sized firms (SMEs) to identify the main barriers firms face to promote the CE, focusing specifically on the following: those related to a lack of resources (human and financial) and capabilities (expertise) and those related to the regulatory framework (administrative procedures and the costs of meeting the regulations). Our results indicate that it is the complexity of administrative/legal procedures and the costs of meeting regulations/legal standards that constitute the most significant barriers, whereas the lack of human resources is also perceived to be an obstacle by firms engaged in CE activities. Those obstacles may be considered revealed barriers, and it is only when the firms become involved in these activities that they actually perceive them. Furthermore, when we consider the breadth of CE activities, administrative procedures and regulations once again emerge as the most significant obstacles. Finally, we stress the need to distinguish between different CE activities given that the perception of barriers differs substantially across these activities. Firms undertaking a disruptive innovation redesigning products and services to minimize the use of materials are more likely to perceive all barriers as important. However, firms implementing such activities as minimizing waste, replanning energy usage, and using renewable energy only perceive those obstacles related to administrative procedures and regulations.