Technology Entrepreneurship and the Performance of Enterprises in the Conditions of Covid-19 Pandemic: The Fuzzy Set Analysis of Waste to Energy Enterprises in Poland

Abstract

This article’s aim is to explain the impact of technology entrepreneurship phenomenon on waste management enterprise performance in the conditions of COVID-19 pandemic. The concept of technology entrepreneurship according to the configuration approach and the category of high-performance organization are the theoretical bases of empirical investigation. For the implementation of empirical research, Fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (FsQCA) was adopted. The research sample included a group of producers of Refused Derived Fuel (RDF) as a central part of the waste to energy industry located in Poland. The research results showed that the waste to energy sector is highly immune to pandemic threats. While during COVID-19, the basic economic parameters (i.e., sales, profitability and employment) of the entire industry in Poland clearly decreased, the same parameters in the case of the waste to energy industry remained at the same level. The research results allow the formulation of two high-performance models of technology entrepreneurship in the waste to energy industry under COVID-19 conditions. The first model is based on traditional technologies and hierarchical organizational structures, and the second is using innovative technologies and flexible structures. Both technology entrepreneurship models are determined by their emergence as complementary to implementation strategies and the opportunity-oriented allocation of resources within business model portfolios.