When Public Utilities <Emphasis Type="Italic">Like</Emphasis> to Talk on Facebook

As the leading social media tool, Facebook is increasingly becoming an important channel for two-sided stakeholder communication in the energy sector. Even though public utilities more and more all relying on such virtual communication, little is known regarding the communication-related factors and their interdependencies. This study aims to reduce this research gap by analysing correlations between a public utility’s specifications, communication interactivity, the resources spent and the outcome of the Facebook conversation. In 2016, an online questionnaire was sent to German, Austrian and Swiss utility companies. The empirical data of the 139 utilities that responded fully support relationships between the communication interactivity and the invested resources as well as the outcomes of a communication. In this way, the results provide new insights for scholars and practitioners into the Facebook conversations of public entities.     

Grosse Stadtwerke – theoretische und empirische Exploration eines besonderen Akteurs in der Energiewende Deutschlands und der Schweiz

Urban utility companies are key players in the Swiss and German energy sector. Due to the federalist and subsidiary governance structure of the two countries’ energy sector, they perform highly system relevant tasks, as e.?g. managing the distribution grids or ensuring the public services for “their city”. In the public and scientific discourse on the role of different actor groups in the energy transition, however, not much attention is paid to urban utility companies. This contribution aims at a theoretical and empirical exploration of these particular actors by analysing their characteristics, specific challenges and strategic answers in the context of the energy transition. For this purpose, the article derives analytical dimensions for the analysis of urban utility companies from scholarly literature on transition studies, network industries and public corporate governance and empirically analyses characteristics and the current situation of urban utility companies in Germany and Switzerland. Methodologically, this article is based on an explorative, qualitative study, which synthesises results from a literature analysis, a document analysis, 38 expert interviews in both countries (in 2017) and two expert workshops conducted in Switzerland (in 2018). The study shows, how the characteristics of urban utility companies can be explained based on public corporate governance and network industries literature. This also allows to identify and understand their particular challenges, as e.?g. the fields of tension among public and private interest in the firms and the multi-dimensional relationship of owner or the particularities of network industries. Finally, this article points out, that the role of urban utility companies in the Swiss and German energy transition is neither just “inhibitor” nor pure “innovator”, but can be labelled as “intelligent follower” and “engineer of the energy transition”.     

Cable TV in Austria. Between telecommunications and broadcasting

In this paper the development of the Austrian cable television (CATV) sector is discussed, focusing on its delicate interconnections with telecommunications and broadcasting, the blurring borderlines and resulting regulatory problems. The policy network is identified and recent changes in the CATV policy and strategy are highlighted, In particular, developments towards a stronger convergence within the electronic communications sector. The case study illustrates peculiarities and shortcomings of Austrian media and communications policies on the way toward a future-oriented information infrastructure.     

Quantifizierung und Systematisierung der technischen und verhaltensbedingten Stromeinsparpotenziale der deutschen Privathaushalte

Electricity consumption in German households accounts for more than 10 % of energy-related CO₂ emissions. In spite of substantial improvements in, for example, the efficiency of household appliances, there is still a considerable electricity savings potential to be tapped in this sector. The possible contribution that the German residential sector can make to climate protection is correspondingly large. This paper aims to structure and quantify electricity savings potentials which could be exploited in German households either through investment measures or changed user behaviour. The total theoretical potential which can be tapped through the purchase of efficient household appliances and the replacement of electrical heaters and hot water generators (i.e. by encouraging investment) amounts to approx. 90 TWh/a. This corresponds to more than 60 % of the current electricity demand of all German households. By means of changed user behaviour, approx. 30 TWh of electricity could be saved according to our calculations. These results presented in this article were reached within the scope of the TRANSPOSE interdisciplinary research project (http://www.uni-muenster.de/Transpose/, the complete analysis can be downloaded at http://www.uni-muenster.de/imperia/md/content/transpose/publikationen/buerger_working_paper_3.pdf). This project is funded within the framework of the ‘Social-ecological Research’ programme of the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research.     

Research priority setting in food and health domain: European stakeholder beliefs about legitimacy criteria and processes

Dietary factors are the most important risk factors affecting health and well-being of population in every Member State of the European Region. Finding sustainable solutions to the food and health challenges is one of the key issues that today’s society urgently needs to address. Research prioritisation thus has an essential role in directing public resources to addressing these challenges. However, the processes of prioritisation among the food and health funders are rarely subject to scrutiny and the calls for democratizing science continue, as a means of enhancing both input legitimacy (with its focus on the processes of decision-making) and output legitimacy (the utility and impact of such decisions). The current study examines what conceptualisations of legitimacy (input and output) are held by the European stakeholders of the food and health research and innovation (R&I) process such as business organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and public sector organisations. We analyse stakeholder views from a series of European Awareness Scenario Workshops across nine EU countries (N = 295). The content and thematic analysis of the outputs identified six criteria determining conceptualisations of legitimacy: Influence; Representation; Procedural issues; Epistemic focus; Strategic vision; and Impact. The statistical analysis of the coded data highlighted stakeholder differences with business sector organisations being significantly less concerned about influence and representation than either NGO or public sector organisations. The results indicate that input legitimacy is of major concern to civil society and public sector actors. They reflect the wider debate about the way in which food and health R&I should be funded and policy decisions conducted, suggesting a need for better delineation of stakeholder roles and power differentials in this process. The findings are discussed with reference to the current discussions about Responsible Research and Innovation.     

The effects of corporate reputation perceptions of the general public on shareholder value

Superior corporate reputations can have strategic value for firms. Of the “multiple reputations” associated with each firm, we focus on the perceptions of the general public. The public represents the most widely defined stakeholder group but has attracted the least amount of research interest to date. Drawing on data for German firms, this study demonstrates that superior reputation perceptions issued by the general public increase shareholder value, as measured by future stock returns. This study provides a more nuanced understanding for this novel finding. Applying a conceptualization of reputation that balances both its affective and cognitive components, we find that reputation perceptions that are driven by nonfinancial aspects are more value relevant in the future than reputation perceptions that are driven by previous financial performance. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Legal Framework of Decentralized Energy Business Models in Germany: Challenges and Opportunities for Municipal Utilities

Feasible and profitable business models to better integrate and harness decentrally generated renewable energy are expected to constitute a key element for the energy transition in Germany. Until now, generated electricity of decentralized systems is to the largest extent only used by the property owner directly or fed into the public grid. To make better use of the generated electricity, it is necessary to find business models that provide an opportunity for different market actors, such as municipal utilities and residential prosumers. Due to the importance, yet low-anticipated monetary potential of such solutions, the legislator encourages their implementation by exemption of statutory fees, levies and taxes as well as by offering public remunerations, premiums and compensations in some cases. Capitalizing on these benefits, however, is only feasible under compliance with the legal requirements. In the light of the considerations above, this work states and analyzes the legal and regulatory framework of different business models within the German energy landscape. The major aim is to identify opportunities and challenges for the implementation of the business models self consumption, direct consumption, direct marketing, demand response, community electricity storage and net metering at the municipal level. The findings show that the profitability of various decentralized on-site business models depends primarily on the current statutory cost exemptions and compensations. At the same time, the regulation is characterized by unsystematic specific exemptions which leads to uncertainty regarding long-term planning. Additionally, although not directly privileged by the existing legal framework, municipal utilities are better suited to handle the legal burdens due to their experience and their administrative infrastructure.     

Journey through a successful privatization : The privatization of Alberta Government Telephones

Alberta Government Telephones (AGT) was privatized in October 1990 in what remains the largest public stock issue in Canadian history. In this article the Chairman of AGT explains the success of the company's launch into the private sector in terms of four key factors: careful strategic planning, comprehensive consumer research and analysis, targeted stakeholder communications and effective issues management.     

Integrated market and nonmarket strategies: Political campaign contributions around merger and acquisition events in the energy sector

We examine how firms use political strategies to protect economic rents created by mergers and acquisitions against dissipation by regulators. In regulated industries, regulators can impose costly merger conditions, for instance consumer rate reductions in the utilities sector, thereby reducing shareholder gains. We investigate empirically whether and how firms use election campaign contributions to politicians as a method of influencing regulatory merger approvals. In a statistical analysis of campaign contributions by all electric utilities from 1998 to 2006, we find that utilities increased their contributions in the year before they announced a merger and that merging utilities increased their contributions more in states with greater political party competition. Our findings contribute to political strategy research by providing novel evidence that firms integrate market and nonmarket strategies. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Elektroautos in einer von erneuerbaren Energien geprägten Energiewirtschaft

The German Federal Government wants to establish Germany as a leading market for electric mobility. Potential environmental benefits and changes in the economic framework conditions of the energy sector are described in this paper. In order to quantify the electricity split which is actually used for charging electric vehicles, two economic models for the energy sector, a model for the market penetration of electric vehicles, a vehicle model and an LCA model are brought together. Based on an assumed dynamic increase of electric vehicles to 12 million in 2030, an additional electricity demand of about 18 TWh is calculated. If the vehicles are charged directly after their last daily trip, the peak load increases by 12%—despite the small increase in electricity demand. First model calculations for the development of the European power generation system show that the direct impact on the construction of new power plants remains low even until 2030. An impact of electric mobility on CO₂ certificate prices can only be seen from 2025 onwards and is limited to an increase in certificate prices by a maximum of 8 % in 2030. An optimisation is possible with intelligent charging strategies: The peak load without demand side management can be reduced by 5 GW and about 600 GWh of additional wind energy can used which would otherwise have been throttled due to feed-in management—about 3.5 % of the total electricity demand of electric vehicles. On the other hand, demand side management leads to more coal power plants instead of gas power plants being used to meet the additional electricity demand. If additional renewable sources are installed along with demand side management, the electricity for electric vehicles is almost carbon free. This is also reflected in the life cycle balance of electric vehicles which also includes vehicle and battery production: With today’s average electricity split in Germany, the greenhouse gas emissions of electric vehicles are about comparable to vehicles with conventional combustion engines. However, the electricity split in 2030 or the use of additional renewable energy sources lead to a significant advantage in the greenhouse gas balance.     

CO2 Speicherung in Deutschland: Eine Brückentechnologie als Klimalösung?

The technology for CO₂ capture, transport and storage (CCTS) in the power plant and industrial sector are considered as an important component in a portfolio of technologies for CO₂ reduction. However, delayed or canceled demonstration projects show that the cost of the capture unit, the necessary pipeline infrastructure and the scarce storage potential in geological formations restrict the CCTS potential. In addition, growing public resistance could lead a further reduction of the CO₂ abatement potential. In this paper the contribution of the CCTS technology for CO₂ reduction in the energy and industrial sectors in Germany is calculated using the model CCTSMOD. It turns out that the application of CCTS is economically interesting for selected industrial sectors under CO₂ certificate prices of 50 €/t and for the power sector under certificate prices of 75 €/t. Because of the limited storage potential, lack of alternative mitigation options and low cost of the deposition, a predominant use of technology in the steel and cement sector is recommended.     

Identifying leaders and laggards—A method and application to US local telephone companies

Performance attributes of public utilities vary in definition according to the stakeholder: service provider, customer or regulator. A framework is provided for defining, measuring and ranking service quality from multiple perspectives by developing a “quadrant analysis” method. This method is applied and US local telephone companies are ranked over time as leaders and laggards or biased according to one, two and three stakeholder perspectives. Application of the method to 1994–2001 data for the US local telephone industry suggests that some local companies hold their position consistently as leaders among their peers in the industry and some continue to lag behind. While the leaders could be studied for best practices the analysis of the laggards’ practices would also yield valuable insights regarding good practice as perceived by the different stakeholders.     

Behavioral and Attitudinal Customer Loyalty in the Power Sector

The emergence of smart grids changes the customer-utility relationship. To facilitate the transition towards a sustainable, reliable and economically viable energy system, utilities need to develop smart grid products and services that have strong customer acceptance and enable different customer segments to engage in energy efficiency. Thus, integrating customer feedback on innovative smart grid services early in the innovation process is of crucial importance. Further, energy providers need to increase customer loyalty and invest in relationship marketing in order to survive and be successful in a competitive market environment.This article presents the findings of a five-month field experiment that investigated the effectiveness of different reward programs in increasing customer loyalty and customer feedback provision in the energy sector. The results demonstrate that reward programs have a positive effect on behavioral (customer feedback provision) and attitudinal (e.?g. satisfaction with the energy provider) aspects of customer loyalty. The reward type matters, however. While monetary reward programs are effective in increasing customer feedback provision, only social reward programs can improve attitudinal aspects of customer loyalty. Energy providers should therefore consider tailoring the reward type to meet their program objectives when employing reward programs.     

ICT-enabled system innovations in public services: Experiences from intelligent transport systems

Public transport is confronted with major challenges such as climate change and congestion. This paper discusses how these major challenges are addressed by means of ICT-enabled system innovations in public services. Recent developments in ICT enable the realisation of novel solutions for public transport that can be subsumed under the headline of intelligent transport systems (ITS). However, while the advances in information and communication technology are very fast, the transformation of transport systems and infrastructures tends to take a long time. In parallel, public sector reforms of the past decade, often characterised by the introduction of New Public Management principles, have changed the organisational and institutional conditions for transport service provision and innovation, with the private sector playing an increasingly prominent role. Public–private innovation networks in services (ServPPINs) have been suggested as a concept to foster the realisation of system innovations.This paper analyses the conditions, determinants and instruments for managing ServPPINs successfully, by comparing four cases of ServPPINs in intelligent transport systems, which all aim at establishing system innovations. The four cases are: ITS Vienna Region, a dynamic intermodal traffic information service; compano, a novel ride-sharing scheme in Austria; SIS, a real-time traffic information services, displays and management system in Oslo; and Flexus, an electronic ticket system for public transportation in Oslo.The paper shows the importance of organisational and institutional conditions of ServPPINs for realising these system innovations, and the crucial role of entrepreneurial individuals, both in public and private sector organisations. It also points to the importance of making clear strategic choices at the right moments in time in the course of the life-cycle of ServPPINs.     

World Energy Council’s Global Energy Scenarios to 2060

Since 1970, global energy consumption has more than doubled. Conventional resources, in particular oil, gas and coal, had a dominant share in supply and covered most of the growth in demand in the past. Even in 2015, these fossil fuels still accounted for more than 80% of global primary energy consumption. The contribution of renewable energies to the total electricity generation was 23% in 2015, the same share as in 1970. Developments in the coming decades will differ substantially, however. Total energy consumption will rise at a much more moderate pace than in the past, e.?g. by up to one third by 2060. Electricity consumption will double during this period. But even this is a considerable slowdown in growth compared with the five-fold increase seen between 1970 and 2015. And, unlike in the past, the emerging rise in consumption will essentially be covered by renewable energy sources. This is true especially for the electricity sector. This comparison with developments in the past shows the extent of the global energy transformation that may be expected in future. These developments are reflected in three global scenarios, which were published by the World Energy Council in October 2016. The results of this flagship study World Energy Scenarios to 2060 are mirrored with the main findings of the IEA’s World Energy Outlook and the U.S. EIA’s International Energy Outlook. The most important challenge indicated by the results of the mentioned studies is: the transformation, which is expected in the covered scenarios is not sufficient, in order to achieve the target of limiting the global temperature increase to less than 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels that was agreed by the international community of states in Paris at the end of 2015. It will be highlighted, which strategies could meet the requirement cost-efficiently—a prerequisite for its success.     

New new technologies: the future and the present of work in information and communication technology

This paper outlines a selection of technological and organisational developments in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector and analyses their likely challenges for workers and trade unions around the globe. It addresses the convergence of telecommunications and information technology, the related developments of ubiquitous computing, ‘clouds’ and ‘big data’, and the possibilities of crowdsourcing and relates these technologies to the last decades' patterns of value chain restructuring. The paper is based on desk research of European and international sources, on sector analyses and technology forecasts by, for instance, the European Union and Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development, and some national actors. These prognoses are analysed through the lens of recent research into ICT working environments and ICT value chains, identifying upcoming and ongoing challenges for both workers and unions, and outlining possible research perspectives.     

Home Ownership Finance in Austria and Germany

This paper studies the financial barriers to ownership entry in Austria and Germany. In both countries the financial institutions are similar but there are differences as to public assistance, mortgage markets and risk allocation. Various risk shifting mechanisms between borrowers, banking and the state, and their impacts on social costs and social efficiency, are discussed. The findings indicate possible credit-rationing as an outcome of the current securitization methods used in Austrian and German bank intermediation and their interaction with subsidy and tax allowance instruments. The existing entry barriers have raised concerns among the current decision makers and may initiate financial reforms in the near future.     

Dynamics of agricultural research organization in Latin America

The authors summarize the conditions that led to the development of national research institutes in Latin America and to the creation of the international centres of agricultural research. The authors review the modernization process of the agricultural sector and the role played by public and international organizations in the appearance of non-public research. The authors discuss the impact of these institutional developments on the effectiveness of national research institutes, and the implications for agricultural science, technology policy, and the organization of agricultural research in the Third World.     

Berechnung des Xgen unter Verwendung von Regressionsmethoden

The “CPI-X” regulation allows a dynamic adjustment of the revenue cap. The general X factors is a correction term for the consumer price index (CPI), since the CPI does not represent the development of the efficient costs in the network sector. This article shows how the general X factor can be calculated using regression analysis and discusses its applicability in the German regulation context. The results show that the general X factor can be calculated using suitable panel methods, but also shows the practical limits of this approach: panel models often do not converge in short time series. In addition, regression analysis can only provide a prognosis for the future general X factor if stable economic and regulation conditions can be assumed. This is currently not the case in the German regulatory context.