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Institutional relatedness and the emergence of renewable energy cooperatives in German districts

  • Matthijs B. Punt
  • , Thomas Bauwens
  • , Koen Frenken*
  • , Lars Holstenkamp
  • *Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

    52 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This paper analyses the evolution of renewable energy cooperatives, examining all such cooperatives founded in German districts between 2006 and 2016. The rise of the cooperative form in renewable energy production is a prominent example of the strong involvement of users in market formation. We investigate the effects of ‘institutional relatedness’, arguing that renewable energy cooperatives can leverage the organizational knowledge and the legitimacy gained by cooperatives active in other industries in the same district. Using an organizational ecology approach, we find that the local presence of cooperatives in other industries indeed supported the founding of renewable energy cooperatives.

    Original languageEnglish
    JournalRegional Studies
    Volume56
    Issue number4
    Pages (from-to)548-562
    Number of pages15
    ISSN0034-3404
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 03.04.2022

    Bibliographical note

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

    UN SDGs

    This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    1. SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
      SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy

    Research areas and keywords

    • cooperatives
    • institutions
    • legitimacy
    • market formation
    • related diversification
    • renewable energy
    • Management studies

    ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

    • Social Sciences(all)
    • Environmental Science(all)

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