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The Internet of Things has become a spotlight in contemporary literature in the domain of industry 4.0 and emerging technologies. Majority of research studies focuses on technicalities and theoretical implications of implementing IoT in the energy sector. However, in practice, organisations face a combination of technical and non-technical challenges. There is a clear need for the studies to empirically evaluate IoT use cases, challenges, and a roadmap for successfully implementing emerging technologies. To fulfil the research gap and provide insights for practitioners, we conducted seven semi-structured interviews with professionals working in Finland’s energy sector. Based on results retrieved through content analysis of transcribed interviews, we developed a roadmap with managerial implications for successfully implementing IoT and other emerging technologies. Furthermore, study results present practical insights on IoT applications, benefits, and major IoT utilisation challenges in the Finnish energy sector industrial ecosystem. In the end, conclusion and future research directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A harmful impact of climate change and global warming has concerned various sectors of the international community. Numerous energy policies aiming at climate change mitigation have been implemented on a national and global scale. Renewable energy technologies (RETs) play a critical role in enhancing sustainable solutions that significantly limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Such innovative technologies can facilitate energy transition through providing, e.g., energy security, sustainable development, and effective usage of indigenous resources. However, the commercialization of RETs is extremely challenging. The barriers can be of a different nature, although this study focused on socioeconomic and regulatory issues. There is ample evidence that energy policies play a central role in supporting adoption of renewables. It is also claimed that RETs require the whole ecosystem to support their successful diffusion. In this study, we explored multifarious barriers for widespread RET diffusion in two European Union countries, Finland and Poland, indicating the most common barriers existing in the literature as well as analyzing major bottlenecks from the viewpoint of renewable energy companies' executives. We also present statistics of the most commonly used RETs in these countries in order to express the diffusion issues more appropriately. The research shows that inflexible, ineffective, and excessive regulatory frameworks; limited financing options; as well as an insufficient level of societal awareness have been seen as the main bottlenecks for RET diffusion in both countries. The outcomes of this study provide useful insights for the researchers in the energy transition field as well as practical managerial and regulatory implications aimed at overcoming these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]