TY  - JOUR
U1  - Zeitschriftenartikel, wissenschaftlich - begutachtet (reviewed)
A1  - König, Werner
A1  - Löbbe, Sabine
A1  - Büttner, Stefan
A1  - Schneider, Christian
T1  - Establishing energy efficiency : drivers for energy effciency in German manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises
JF  - Energies : open-access journal of related scientific research, technology development and studies in policy and management
N2  - Despite strong political efforts in Europe, industrial small- and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) seem to neglect adopting practices for energy effciency. By taking a cultural perspective, this study investigated what drives the establishment of energy effciency and corresponding practices in SMEs. Based on 10 ethnographic case studies and a quantitative survey among 500 manufacturing SMEs, the results indicate the importance of everyday employee behavior in achieving energy savings. The studied enterprises value behavior related measures as similarly important as technical measures. Raising awareness for energy issues within the organization, therefore, constitutes an essential leadership task that is oftentimes perceived as challenging and frustrating. It was concluded that the embedding of energy efficiency in corporate strategy, the use of a broad spectrum of different practices, and the empowerment and involvement of employees serve as major drivers in establishing energy effciency within SMEs. Moreover, the findings reveal institutional influences on shaping the meanings of energy effciency for the SMEs by raising attention for energy effciency in the enterprises and making energy effciency decisions more likely. The main contribution of the paper is to offer an alternative perspective on energy effciency in SMEs beyond the mere adoption of energy-effcient technology.
KW  - industrial energy efficiency
KW  - energy effciency culture
KW  - energy effciency practices
KW  - energy management
Y1  - 2020
UN  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bsz:rt2-opus4-28167
SN  - 1996-1073
SS  - 1996-1073
U6  - https://doi.org/10.3390/en13195144
DO  - https://doi.org/10.3390/en13195144
N1  - zudem erschienen in: Trianni A, ed. Enhancement of Industrial Energy Efficiency and Sustainability (2021). p. 183-214. https://doi.org/10.3390/books978-3-0365-1566-3
VL  - 13
IS  - 19
SP  - 1
EP  - 31
S1  - 31
PB  - MDPI
CY  - Basel
ER  -