IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v17y2024i5p1160-d1348557.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Energy Transition in SMEs: The Italian Experience

Author

Listed:
  • Antonio Thomas

    (Department of Business and Economics Studies, University of Naples Parthenope, 80132 Napoli, Italy)

  • Rosalia Castellano

    (Department of Management Studies and Quantitative Methods, University of Naples Parthenope, 80132 Napoli, Italy)

  • Gennaro Punzo

    (Department of Economics and Law, University of Naples Parthenope, 80132 Napoli, Italy)

  • Giuseppe Scandurra

    (Department of Management Studies and Quantitative Methods, University of Naples Parthenope, 80132 Napoli, Italy)

Abstract

Encouraging energy transition (ET) has become a global imperative for nations and companies, and not just large ones. Not all economic organizations pursue this process with the same intensity. Particularly, the factors driving Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) towards ET are not yet clearly defined, despite SMEs representing most companies and bearing a significant responsibility for pollution. To shed light on this matter, this study presents a framework of the main drivers that stimulate SMEs placed in Italy to pursue energy transition. We conducted a Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis on data collected from innovation-oriented SMEs enlisted in a specific register of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development. The research findings show a weak interest among SMEs towards ET. While country-specific conditions and social and psychological traits affect the decision to invest in ET, firm-specific factors and ‘stakeholder’ pressures seem to be almost irrelevant. Policy measures with a different focus are necessary. Specifically, the provision of facilitation emerges as the most effective tool for encouraging ET among SMEs.

Suggested Citation

  • Antonio Thomas & Rosalia Castellano & Gennaro Punzo & Giuseppe Scandurra, 2024. "The Energy Transition in SMEs: The Italian Experience," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-16, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:5:p:1160-:d:1348557
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/5/1160/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/5/1160/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martin-Tapia, Inmaculada & Aragon-Correa, Juan Alberto & Senise-Barrio, Maria Eugenia, 2008. "Being green and export intensity of SMEs: The moderating influence of perceived uncertainty," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1-2), pages 56-67, December.
    2. David Gadenne & Jessica Kennedy & Catherine McKeiver, 2009. "An Empirical Study of Environmental Awareness and Practices in SMEs," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 84(1), pages 45-63, January.
    3. Przychodzen, Wojciech & Przychodzen, Justyna, 2020. "Determinants of renewable energy production in transition economies: A panel data approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    4. Liu, Wenfeng & Zhang, Xingping & Feng, Sida, 2019. "Does renewable energy policy work? Evidence from a panel data analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 635-642.
    5. Dalia Streimikiene & Tomas Baležentis & Artiom Volkov & Mangirdas Morkūnas & Agnė Žičkienė & Justas Streimikis, 2021. "Barriers and Drivers of Renewable Energy Penetration in Rural Areas," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-28, October.
    6. Marques, António C. & Fuinhas, José A. & Pires Manso, J.R., 2010. "Motivations driving renewable energy in European countries: A panel data approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 6877-6885, November.
    7. Khan, Khalid & Su, Chi Wei & Rehman, Ashfaq U. & Ullah, Rahman, 2022. "Is technological innovation a driver of renewable energy?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    8. Jan-Michael Becker & Christian Ringle & Marko Sarstedt & Franziska Völckner, 2015. "How collinearity affects mixture regression results," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 26(4), pages 643-659, December.
    9. Tabi, Andrea & Hille, Stefanie Lena & Wüstenhagen, Rolf, 2014. "What makes people seal the green power deal? — Customer segmentation based on choice experiment in Germany," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 206-215.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dogan, Eyup & Chishti, Muhammad Zubair & Karimi Alavijeh, Nooshin & Tzeremes, Panayiotis, 2022. "The roles of technology and Kyoto Protocol in energy transition towards COP26 targets: Evidence from the novel GMM-PVAR approach for G-7 countries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    2. Hu, Xing & Yu, Shiwei & Fang, Xu & Ovaere, Marten, 2023. "Which combinations of renewable energy policies work better? Insights from policy text synergies in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PA).
    3. Ibrahiem, Dalia M. & Hanafy, Shaimaa A., 2021. "Do energy security and environmental quality contribute to renewable energy? The role of trade openness and energy use in North African countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 667-678.
    4. Mohsen Khezri & Mohammad Sharif Karimi & Jamal Mamkhezri & Reza Ghazal & Larry Blank, 2022. "Assessing the Impact of Selected Determinants on Renewable Energy Sources in the Electricity Mix: The Case of ASEAN Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-15, June.
    5. Carfora, A. & Pansini, R.V. & Scandurra, G., 2021. "The role of environmental taxes and public policies in supporting RES investments in EU countries: Barriers and mimicking effects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    6. Mac Domhnaill, Ciarán & Ryan, Lisa, 2020. "Towards renewable electricity in Europe: Revisiting the determinants of renewable electricity in the European Union," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 955-965.
    7. Ousama Ben-Salha & Abdelaziz Hakimi & Taha Zaghdoudi & Hassan Soltani & Mariem Nsaibi, 2022. "Assessing the Impact of Fossil Fuel Prices on Renewable Energy in China Using the Novel Dynamic ARDL Simulations Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-17, August.
    8. Jana Hojnik, 2017. "In Pursuit of Eco-innovation," UPP Monograph Series, University of Primorska Press, number 978-961-7023-53-4.
    9. Justyna Godawska & Joanna Wyrobek, 2021. "The Impact of Environmental Policy Stringency on Renewable Energy Production in the Visegrad Group Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-23, September.
    10. Jarosław Brodny & Magdalena Tutak, 2020. "Analyzing Similarities between the European Union Countries in Terms of the Structure and Volume of Energy Production from Renewable Energy Sources," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-37, February.
    11. Ekaterina Azarova & Hannah Jun, 2021. "Investigating Determinants of International Clean Energy Investments in Emerging Markets," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-15, October.
    12. Przychodzen, Wojciech & Przychodzen, Justyna, 2020. "Determinants of renewable energy production in transition economies: A panel data approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    13. Jeetoo, Jamiil, 2022. "Spatial interaction effect in renewable energy consumption in sub-Saharan Africa," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 148-155.
    14. Kersey, Jessica & Blechinger, Philipp & Shirley, Rebekah, 2021. "A panel data analysis of policy effectiveness for renewable energy expansion on Caribbean islands," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    15. Alola, Andrew Adewale & Olanipekun, Ifedolapo Olabisi & Shah, Muhammad Ibrahim, 2023. "Examining the drivers of alternative energy in leading energy sustainable economies: The trilemma of energy efficiency, energy intensity and renewables expenses," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 1190-1197.
    16. Shahnazi, Rouhollah & Dehghan Shabani, Zahra, 2020. "Do renewable energy production spillovers matter in the EU?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 786-796.
    17. Iulia Lupu & Gheorghe Hurduzeu & Radu Lupu & Maria-Floriana Popescu & Camelia Gavrilescu, 2023. "Drivers for Renewable Energy Consumption in European Union Countries. A Panel Data Insight," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 25(63), pages 380-380, April.
    18. Borozan, Dj, 2022. "Asymmetric effects of policy uncertainty on renewable energy consumption in G7 countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 412-420.
    19. Liu, Ying & Feng, Chao, 2023. "Promoting renewable energy through national energy legislation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    20. Hussain, Jamal & Zhou, Kui & Muhammad, Faqir & Khan, Danish & Khan, Anwar & Ali, Najabat & Akhtar, Rizwan, 2021. "Renewable energy investment and governance in countries along the belt & Road Initiative: Does trade openness matter?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 1278-1289.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:5:p:1160-:d:1348557. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.