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

Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschungbegutachtet

Authors

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.

OriginalspracheEnglisch
ZeitschriftRegional Studies
Jahrgang56
Ausgabenummer4
Seiten (von - bis)548-562
Anzahl der Seiten15
ISSN0034-3404
DOIs
PublikationsstatusErschienen - 03.04.2022

DOI