Acceptance and Development of Quantum Computing in the Netherlands and Germany: Barriers and Remedies From a Multistakeholder Perspective

This article presents a qualitative study on the barriers to the acceptance and development of quantum computing and the remedies for mitigating them. We interviewed eight quantum stakeholders from various organizations in the Netherlands and Germany with different levels of quantum expertise and diverse incentives to engage with technology development. We found 11 barriers to the acceptance and growth of quantum computing that reflect the limitations and uncertainty in the technology and the challenges to knowledge transfer and collaboration among academia, industry, policymakers, and society (i.e., the quantum stakeholders). We also found nine possible remedies to overcome these barriers by enabling effective collaboration and unobstructed information flow among stakeholders. Overall, we contribute to the existing literature on quantum computing adoption by identifying obstacles and remedies that consider both technological and stakeholder perspectives.