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Growth strategies of incumbent utilities as contextually embedded: Examples from Denmark, Germany, Finland and Spain

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  • Ratinen, Mari
  • Lund, Peter D.

Abstract

In this article changes in the electricity industries of four different countries are analyzed in terms of the incumbent utilities' growth strategies. The economic activities are analyzed as socially embedded as we analyze how the social context influences these strategies. A typology for analyzing growth strategies based on the relative strength of social ties and focus on markets is presented. Qualitative case studies of the three largest incumbent utilities in Denmark, Germany, Finland and Spain were analyzed. Our findings show that incumbent utilities with relatively strong social relations can influence the energy policies, and their growth strategies tend to be more focused on domestic markets. In the opposite case, the growth strategies are more likely to be based on diversification and internationalization. We conclude that an incomplete unbundling of interests appears to slow down changes in the incumbent utilities' growth strategies. Thus, we propose that a complete unbundling of interests is needed.

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  • Ratinen, Mari & Lund, Peter D., 2014. "Growth strategies of incumbent utilities as contextually embedded: Examples from Denmark, Germany, Finland and Spain," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 81-92.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:38:y:2014:i:c:p:81-92
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2014.02.005
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Tayal, Dev & Evers, Uwana, 2018. "Consumer preferences and electricity pricing reform in Western Australia," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 115-124.
    2. Löhr, Meike & Mattes, Jannika, 2020. "Facing transition phase two: Analysing actor strategies in a stagnating acceleration phase," Papers in Innovation Studies 2020/12, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    3. Nam, Hoseok & Konishi, Satoshi & Nam, Ki-Woo, 2021. "Comparative analysis of decision making regarding nuclear policy after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident: Case study in Germany and Japan," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    4. Löhr, Meike & Mattes, Jannika, 2022. "Facing transition phase two: Analysing actor strategies in a stagnating acceleration phase," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    5. Hukkinen, Janne I., 2020. "Knowing when knowledge performs its power in ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    6. Ratinen, Mari, 2019. "Social embeddedness of policy actors. The failure of consumer-owned wind energy in Finland," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 735-743.
    7. Kim, Junghun & Park, Stephen Youngjun & Lee, Jongsu, 2018. "Do people really want renewable energy? Who wants renewable energy?: Discrete choice model of reference-dependent preference in South Korea," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 761-770.

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