Analysis of Barriers within the Decision-making Chain for German and Danish SMEs Supplying Climate Adaptation Solutions

Abstract

Climate adaptation has become a central policy priority across Europe, yet the uptake of new adaptation solutions remains slow, particularly within public-sector markets. Small and medium-sized enterprises play an important role in developing innovative climate adaptation technologies, but often struggle to gain access to planning, procurement and implementation processes shaped by established routines, regulatory complexity and risk aversion. This paper analyses the barriers faced by SMEs supplying climate adaptation solutions in Denmark and Northern Germany. Based on semi-structured interviews with ten SMEs offering a wide range of nature-based, digital and mobile adaptation solutions, the study examines how companies encounter the public-sector decision-making chain from risk assessment and planning to procurement and implementation. The analysis is informed by diffusion of innovation theory, combined with insights from research on public-sector innovation barriers. The findings suggest that barriers to diffusion are unevenly distributed along the decision-making chain, with the planning stage emerging as the most critical bottleneck. Exclusion from early planning reinforces path dependency and limits the consideration of alternative solutions, even when these display clear advantages. Later stages are further constrained by limited observability, restricted trialability, compatibility issues and weak knowledge transfer during implementation. Overall, the study indicates that adoption barriers are primarily institutional rather than technological, highlighting the importance of early engagement, trust and organisational capacity for accelerating climate adaptation in public-sector contexts.