Exploring social acceptance in the bioeconomy: A scoping review and future research directions

The bioeconomy has gained importance over the last decade and is presented as a solution to multiple societal challenges. However, its success relies on broad social acceptance, making it essential to understand stakeholders’ perspectives to develop innovations that address societal needs. This scoping review synthesises existing literature regarding social acceptance of the bioeconomy, including associated technologies, infrastructure and applications to provide insights into stakeholders’ decision-making process and influencing factors. Following Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) methodological framework, this scoping review identified, selected, organised, and summarised 105 academic articles on bioeconomy acceptance across stakeholders. The findings indicate a strong geographical bias, with a concentration of studies in countries, such as the USA, Germany, and China, with countries in Eastern Europe underrepresented. The review also reveals the limited inclusion of some perspectives in the discourse. While a considerable body of research has been conducted on farmers, consumers, and the public, research on policymakers, industry leaders, and researchers themselves is less prevalent. Interestingly, studies on farmers mainly focus on their views on certain applications, i.e. as passive recipients of (potential) applications, rather than how they can actively participate in shaping the bioeconomy. Noting a reliance on survey methods, shifting to more participatory research methods could enhance stakeholder engagement. Furthermore, the conceptualisation of acceptance in the literature is predominantly passive to date, focusing on attitudes and perceptions, often in relation to concepts rather than tangible or real objects. As bioeconomy innovations become more common, research will need to shift towards understanding active acceptance, how people engage with and adopt these innovations in their everyday lives. This shift will be critical for building a bioeconomy that is sustainable, just and inclusive.