IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i5p1702-d324748.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Mixed-Method Research to Foster Energy Efficiency Investments by Small Private Landlords in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Steven März

    (Division: Energy, Transport, Climate Policy, Wuppertal Institute; Döppersberg 19, 42103 Wuppertal, Germany)

  • Anja Bierwirth

    (Division: Energy, Transport, Climate Policy, Wuppertal Institute; Döppersberg 19, 42103 Wuppertal, Germany)

  • Ralf Schüle

    (Division: Digital Cities, Risk Prevention and Transportation, Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR), Deichmanns Aue 31–37, 53179 Bonn, Germany)

Abstract

The decarbonisation of the building stock is an important element for the success of the German Energiewende (energy transition). Despite some progress having been made, the rate of energy renovation falls below the level required to meet political commitments. This gives rise to the question: what deters property owners from making energy efficiency investments and how can the policy framework foster such investments? To answer this question, the paper focuses on a widely neglected property owner group: small private landlords (SPL). Although they manage 37% of all residential rental properties in Germany, very little is known about their decision-making processes for energy efficiency investments. We applied a mixed-method design to identify factors that hindered and supported their investments. In an explorative study, we initially conducted 18 problem-centred interviews. Subsequently, we carried out a postal survey and analysed the questionnaires using a hierarchical linear regression model. The results show that energy renovation is a multi-dimensional decision-making process, which can only be adequately addressed by a comprehensive policy package. To develop such a package, the author recommends that the specific investment behaviour of SPL must be better targeted, their knowledge about energy efficiency investments must be improved through exchange and networking, a sense of responsibility for the neighbourhood must be fostered, and greater focus must be placed on improving local framework conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Steven März & Anja Bierwirth & Ralf Schüle, 2020. "Mixed-Method Research to Foster Energy Efficiency Investments by Small Private Landlords in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:5:p:1702-:d:324748
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/5/1702/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/5/1702/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carroll, James & Aravena, Claudia & Denny, Eleanor, 2016. "Low energy efficiency in rental properties: Asymmetric information or low willingness-to-pay?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 617-629.
    2. Mikalef, Patrick & Boura, Maria & Lekakos, George & Krogstie, John, 2019. "Big data analytics and firm performance: Findings from a mixed-method approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 261-276.
    3. Hope, Alexander John & Booth, Alexander, 2014. "Attitudes and behaviours of private sector landlords towards the energy efficiency of tenanted homes," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 369-378.
    4. Wilson, C. & Pettifor, H. & Chryssochoidis, G., 2018. "Quantitative modelling of why and how homeowners decide to renovate energy efficiently," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 1333-1344.
    5. Michelsen, Claus & Rosenschon, Sebastian & Schulz, Christian, 2015. "Small might be beautiful, but bigger performs better: Scale economies in “green” refurbishments of apartment housing," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 240-250.
    6. Im, Jongho & Seo, Youngme & Cetin, Kristen S. & Singh, Jasmeet, 2017. "Energy efficiency in U.S. residential rental housing: Adoption rates and impact on rent," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 1021-1033.
    7. Henger, Ralph & Voigtländer, Michael, 2011. "Einflussfaktoren auf die Rentabilität energetischer Sanierungen bei Mietobjekten," IW-Trends – Vierteljahresschrift zur empirischen Wirtschaftsforschung, Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft (IW) / German Economic Institute, vol. 38(1), pages 49-66.
    8. Olatz Lopez-Fernandez & Jose Molina-Azorin, 2011. "The use of mixed methods research in the field of behavioural sciences," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 45(6), pages 1459-1472, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Liu, Nan & Zhao, Yuan & Ge, Jiaqi, 2018. "Do renters skimp on energy efficiency during economic recessions? Evidence from Northeast Scotland," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(PA), pages 164-175.
    2. Sieger, Lisa & Weber, Christoph, 2023. "Inefficient markets for energy efficiency? – The efficiency premium puzzle in the German rental housing market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    3. Miu, Luciana & Hawkes, Adam D., 2020. "Private landlords and energy efficiency: Evidence for policymakers from a large-scale study in the United Kingdom," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    4. Im, Jongho & Seo, Youngme & Cetin, Kristen S. & Singh, Jasmeet, 2017. "Energy efficiency in U.S. residential rental housing: Adoption rates and impact on rent," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 1021-1033.
    5. Morris, J. & Genovese, A., 2018. "An empirical investigation into students' experience of fuel poverty," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 228-237.
    6. Luiz de Mello, 2023. "Real Estate in a Post-Pandemic World: How Can Policies Make Housing More Enviromentally Sustainable and Affordable?," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 244(1), pages 111-139, March.
    7. Mikael Mangold & Magnus Österbring & Conny Overland & Tim Johansson & Holger Wallbaum, 2018. "Building Ownership, Renovation Investments, and Energy Performance—A Study of Multi-Family Dwellings in Gothenburg," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-16, May.
    8. Mariani, Marcello M. & Fosso Wamba, Samuel, 2020. "Exploring how consumer goods companies innovate in the digital age: The role of big data analytics companies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 338-352.
    9. Shoaib Azizi & Gireesh Nair & Thomas Olofsson, 2020. "Adoption of Energy Efficiency Measures in Renovation of Single-Family Houses: A Comparative Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-16, November.
    10. Hyunjoo Lee & Misuk Lee & Sesil Lim, 2018. "Do Consumers Care about the Energy Efficiency of Buildings? Understanding Residential Choice Based on Energy Performance Certificates," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-18, November.
    11. Dalia Streimikiene & Tomas Balezentis, 2020. "Willingness to Pay for Renovation of Multi-Flat Buildings and to Share the Costs of Renovation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-16, May.
    12. Xu, Xiaojing & Chen, Chien-fei, 2019. "Energy efficiency and energy justice for U.S. low-income households: An analysis of multifaceted challenges and potential," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 763-774.
    13. Hinker, Jonas & Hemkendreis, Christian & Drewing, Emily & März, Steven & Hidalgo Rodríguez, Diego I. & Myrzik, Johanna M.A., 2017. "A novel conceptual model facilitating the derivation of agent-based models for analyzing socio-technical optimality gaps in the energy domain," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 1219-1230.
    14. Stefano Ceolotto & Eleanor Denny, 2021. "Putting a new 'spin' on energy labels: measuring the impact of reframing energy efficiency on tumble dryer choices in a multi-country experiment," Trinity Economics Papers tep1521, Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics.
    15. Lutfi, Abdalwali & Alrawad, Mahmaod & Alsyouf, Adi & Almaiah, Mohammed Amin & Al-Khasawneh, Ahmad & Al-Khasawneh, Akif Lutfi & Alshira'h, Ahmad Farhan & Alshirah, Malek Hamed & Saad, Mohamed & Ibrahim, 2023. "Drivers and impact of big data analytic adoption in the retail industry: A quantitative investigation applying structural equation modeling," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    16. Luther Yuong Qai Chong & Thien Sang Lim, 2022. "Pull and Push Factors of Data Analytics Adoption and Its Mediating Role on Operational Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-19, June.
    17. Liu, Edgar & valentine, kylie & Batterham, Deb & Stone, Wendy & Martin, Chris & Parkinson, Sharon & Hynes, Danielle, 2023. "Poverty and Australian housing: findings from an Investigative Panel," SocArXiv q2tfs, Center for Open Science.
    18. Raed A.I. Abueed & Mehmet Aga, 2019. "Sustainable Knowledge Creation and Corporate Outcomes: Does Corporate Data Governance Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-15, October.
    19. Häckel, Björn & Pfosser, Stefan & Tränkler, Timm, 2017. "Explaining the energy efficiency gap - Expected Utility Theory versus Cumulative Prospect Theory," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 414-426.
    20. Kristina Mjörnell & Paula Femenías & Kerstin Annadotter, 2019. "Renovation Strategies for Multi-Residential Buildings from the Record Years in Sweden—Profit-Driven or Socioeconomically Responsible?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-18, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:5:p:1702-:d:324748. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.