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BIODIESEL INCORPORATED (Case Study p565-569)
Joshua Maxwell shut down his laptop and looked out the window. From the second floor of the Graduate School of Management’s new building, he could see a number of cars driving on the nearby freeway and sitting in the adjacent parking lot. Josh was in his last term of the full-time MBA program at UC Davis. He would soon be graduating and entering a new chapter of his life. While he had the luxury of having several management-level job offers from which to choose, he was unsure whether he wanted to follow such a traditional route. There was one opportunity in particular that had recently come across his path which gave him pause.
Background
The previous term, Josh had been enrolled in
As the group explored the environmental benefits and the viability of the diesel fuel substitute, the three began to realize the potential of the biodiesel market.
Biodiesel is a vegetable- and/or animal-based product that serves as a substitute for traditional diesel fuel. Although its chemical composition is dissimilar from the petrol-based diesel, biodiesel will still work in diesel engines built in and after 1996 with no modification. For engines made before that time, modifications can be made to allow for the use of biodiesel fuel. The choice of biodiesel as a product of biomass is an intentional one. Producing a product that can be utilized by the existing infrastructure and social patterns of use2 increases the likelihood of its adoption. “Entrepreneurs must locate their ideas within the set of existing understandings and actions that constitute the institutional environment yet set their innovations apart from what already exists.” This economic viability is coupled with a significant potential to the environment: biodiesel showcases an innovation that is a step in the right direction for air quality. Biodiesel’s greatest promise to sustainability as a renewable energy source is its lower emissions over conventional diesel. Compared to traditional diesel, biodiesel achieves