The main subject of this paper is the international diffusion of environmental innovations, i.e. the emergence of lead markets out of pioneering markets for environmental innovations. It wants to determine which actors (governments, NGOs, economic actors) and their respective strategies have the potential to facilitate lead markets.
The analysis consists of three distinct steps. First, theories of innovation economics, environmental economics, management sciences and policy sciences are reviewed with regard to their contribution to an explanation of lead markets. Second, cases of lead markets as they are described in literature are reviewed and compared. The final step seeks to build on the first two to develop an analytical framework.