The New Space Economy

The New Space Economy is a paradigm shift in the history of the space sector in which new economic actors (i.e., private companies such as SpaceX and BlueOrigin) work alongside traditional governmental players (e.g., NASA, ESA) creating new organisational and strategic models. In the New Space Economy, commercial purposes play a leading role and government entities and private companies pool their resources and capabilities in public-private partnerships to define new business models that exploit new applications and commercial services. However, there is a controversial relationship between these new business models, the sustainable development of the space industry and the preservation of the space and terrestrial environment.
The activities of the New Space Economy enable the advancement of research and scientific discoveries, but they also cause several critical environmental and social issues. For this reason, public opinion, governments, and international bodies demand greater social and environmental responsibility from New Space Economy actors. However, companies report little or no information on the sustainability impacts of their activities, facilitated by the lack of a clear regulatory framework.
This book analyses the New Space Economy from a managerial perspective. It explores the new strategic and organisational models and the social and environmental accountability of companies operating in the New Space Economy. It does so through a review of the multidisciplinary academic literature and reports from international organisations and an analysis of the websites and sustainability reports of some leading private space companies.

Patrizia Di Tullio is a Post-Doc Researcher in Business Administration and Accounting at the Department of Economic Studies, University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara (Italy). Her research interests focus on the business model and its evolutionary aspects (i.e., business model innovation, sustainable business model, collaborative business model), and financial and non-financial corporate reporting practices.