Over the past decades, enormous progress has been achieved with regard to research on environmentally friendly polymers. One of the most prominent families of such biopolymers are bacterially synthesized polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) that have been known since the 1920s. However, only as recent as the 1990s have extensive studies sprung out exponentially in this matter. Since then, different areas of exploration of these intriguing materials have been uncovered. However, no systematic review of undertaken efforts has been conducted so far. Therefore, we have performed an unbiased search of up-to-date literature to reveal trending topics in the research of PHAs over the past three decades by data mining of 2,227 publications. This allowed us to identify eight past and current trends in this area. Our study provides a comprehensive review of these trends and speculates where PHA research is heading.
The growing importance of sustainable development, especially regarding environmental issues, contributes to shaping new trends at the level of enterprises. Sustainable development is perceived as a source of new entrepreneurial opportunities that serve to solve social and environmental problems. The main objective of this study is to identify factors supporting and hindering the development of enterprise innovativeness exemplified by the bioeconomy sector in Poland. A research analysis was based on the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process (EDP) model. The study employed the method of critical literature analysis, as well as qualitative methods, such as individual direct interviews with experts and smart labs with 252 enterprises from the economic sector. The results of the research analysis show that the innovative activity of enterprises in the bioeconomy sector depends on external, as well as internal, factors. This is particularly important, owing to the impact of enterprises on the environment and on society, as they contribute to the creation and implementation of new, more sustainable production and consumption models.
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