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Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine private households’ preferences for service bundles in the German energy market.
Design/methodology/approach
This investigation is based on survey data collected from 3,663 customers of seven mainly municipal energy suppliers in the German energy market. The data set was analyzed via a binary logistic regression model to identify the most prospective customers and their preferences regarding bundles of energy services.
Findings
The results indicate that potential adopters of energy-related service bundles have greater prior knowledge about service bundles; place higher importance on simplified handling, flat rates and long price guarantees; prefer to purchase a service bundle from an energy supplier; live in urban areas and have a gas tariff; are both less likely to have a green electricity tariff and to support the German energy transition; have a greater intention to purchase a smart home product; are less likely to already be prosumers; and prefer customer centers and social media as communication channels with energy providers.
Practical implications
This paper offers several implications for decision-makers in developing marketing strategies for bundled offerings in a highly competitive energy market.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the sparse research on service bundles in the energy sector, despite the growing interest of energy suppliers and consumers in this topic. It expands the research focusing on the telecommunications sector.
Purpose: Interpretive research in management accounting and control provides rich insights from empirically based studies, but it has been criticised for lacking generalisability and potential subjectivity. On the latter, triangulation is useful, and this paper aims to offer some insights on a triangulation technique thus far not commonly reported in management accounting/control research.
Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on a study of the roles of management accountants in performance management systems, this paper offers some insights from empirical experiences on the use of concept maps as a tool to assist triangulation and improve understanding of complex empirical phenomena.
Findings: The concept maps as utilised revealed additional insights which were not recounted by interviewees during the normal interview time. This is a potentially important finding for consideration of future researchers.
Practical implications: In this paper, how concept maps were used is detailed, and it is hoped that future researchers will find their use beneficial in interview settings.
Originality/value: Thus far, concept maps seem under-utilised in management accounting and control research. This paper gives some initial insights on how they may be used in case study settings.