IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v127y2019icp269-279.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The green flings: Norwegian oil and gas industry’s engagement in offshore wind power

Author

Listed:
  • Mäkitie, Tuukka
  • Normann, Håkon E.
  • Thune, Taran M.
  • Sraml Gonzalez, Jakoba

Abstract

Reorientation of fossil fuel industries towards renewable energy, and the role of changes in organizational environment underlying such processes, have not featured strongly in the study of sustainable energy transitions. We contribute to this important policy issue with a case study of the Norwegian oil and gas industry and its engagement in offshore wind power. We study how the engagement has changed during the period 2007–2016, and whether these changes correspond with developments in the industry’s task and institutional environments. Our study reveals that despite relatively stable institutional environment and continuous growth in offshore wind market over the last decade, the oil and gas industry’s engagement has fluctuated over time. These fluctuations – green flings – took place during two market downturns in the oil and gas market, while during an oil and gas boom the industry reoriented back to this core market. Our results draw attention to the potential importance of market changes for reorientation of fossil fuel industries towards renewable energy. We conclude by discussing the implications of our study for policies seeking to support sustainable energy transitions.

Suggested Citation

  • Mäkitie, Tuukka & Normann, Håkon E. & Thune, Taran M. & Sraml Gonzalez, Jakoba, 2019. "The green flings: Norwegian oil and gas industry’s engagement in offshore wind power," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 269-279.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:127:y:2019:i:c:p:269-279
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2018.12.015
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421518308115
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.12.015?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marvin B. Lieberman & Gwendolyn K. Lee & Timothy B. Folta, 2017. "Entry, exit, and the potential for resource redeployment," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 526-544, March.
    2. Penna, Caetano C.R. & Geels, Frank W., 2015. "Climate change and the slow reorientation of the American car industry (1979–2012): An application and extension of the Dialectic Issue LifeCycle (DILC) model," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(5), pages 1029-1048.
    3. Geels, Frank W. & Penna, Caetano C.R., 2015. "Societal problems and industry reorientation: Elaborating the Dialectic Issue LifeCycle (DILC) model and a case study of car safety in the USA (1900–1995)," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 67-82.
    4. Jacobsson, Staffan & Lauber, Volkmar, 2006. "The politics and policy of energy system transformation--explaining the German diffusion of renewable energy technology," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 256-276, February.
    5. Constance E. Helfat & Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, 2004. "Inter‐temporal economies of scope, organizational modularity, and the dynamics of diversification," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(13), pages 1217-1232, December.
    6. Reichardt, Kristin & Negro, Simona O. & Rogge, Karoline S. & Hekkert, Marko P., 2016. "Analyzing interdependencies between policy mixes and technological innovation systems: The case of offshore wind in Germany," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 11-21.
    7. Donald D. Bergh & Michael W. Lawless, 1998. "Portfolio Restructuring and Limits to Hierarchical Governance: The Effects of Environmental Uncertainty and Diversification Strategy," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 9(1), pages 87-102, February.
    8. Wieczorek, Anna J. & Negro, Simona O. & Harmsen, Robert & Heimeriks, Gaston J. & Luo, Lin & Hekkert, Marko P., 2013. "A review of the European offshore wind innovation system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 294-306.
    9. Sybille van den Hove & Marc Le Menestrel & Henri-Claude de Bettignies, 2002. "The oil industry and climate change: strategies and ethical dilemmas," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 2(1), pages 3-18, March.
    10. Unruh, Gregory C., 2000. "Understanding carbon lock-in," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(12), pages 817-830, October.
    11. Steen, Markus & Weaver, Tyson, 2017. "Incumbents’ diversification and cross-sectorial energy industry dynamics," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(6), pages 1071-1086.
    12. Daniel A. Levinthal & Brian Wu, 2010. "Opportunity costs and non‐scale free capabilities: profit maximization, corporate scope, and profit margins," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 780-801, July.
    13. Geels, Frank W., 2014. "Reconceptualising the co-evolution of firms-in-industries and their environments: Developing an inter-disciplinary Triple Embeddedness Framework," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 261-277.
    14. Hüseyin Tanriverdi & N. Venkatraman, 2005. "Knowledge relatedness and the performance of multibusiness firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 97-119, February.
    15. Bergek, Anna & Berggren, Christian & Magnusson, Thomas & Hobday, Michael, 2013. "Technological discontinuities and the challenge for incumbent firms: Destruction, disruption or creative accumulation?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(6), pages 1210-1224.
    16. Kathleen M. Eisenhardt & Jeffrey A. Martin, 2000. "Dynamic capabilities: what are they?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(10‐11), pages 1105-1121, October.
    17. Fernando F. Suarez & Rogelio Oliva, 2005. "Environmental change and organizational transformation," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 14(6), pages 1017-1041, December.
    18. Kolk, Ans & Levy, David, 2001. "Winds of Change:: Corporate Strategy, Climate change and Oil Multinationals," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 501-509, October.
    19. Mignon, Ingrid & Bergek, Anna, 2016. "Investments in renewable electricity production: The importance of policy revisited," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 307-316.
    20. Pinkse, Jonatan & van den Buuse, Daniel, 2012. "The development and commercialization of solar PV technology in the oil industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 11-20.
    21. Kern, Florian & Smith, Adrian & Shaw, Chris & Raven, Rob & Verhees, Bram, 2014. "From laggard to leader: Explaining offshore wind developments in the UK," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 635-646.
    22. Håkon Endresen Normann & Jens Hanson, 2018. "The role of domestic markets in international technological innovation systems," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(5), pages 482-504, May.
    23. Kivimaa, Paula & Kern, Florian, 2016. "Creative destruction or mere niche support? Innovation policy mixes for sustainability transitions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 205-217.
    24. Mohn, Klaus & Misund, Bård, 2009. "Investment and uncertainty in the international oil and gas industry," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 240-248, March.
    25. Normann, Håkon Endresen, 2017. "Policy networks in energy transitions: The cases of carbon capture and storage and offshore wind in Norway," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 80-93.
    26. Turnheim, Bruno & Geels, Frank W., 2012. "Regime destabilisation as the flipside of energy transitions: Lessons from the history of the British coal industry (1913–1997)," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 35-49.
    27. Gary P. Pisano, 2017. "Toward a prescriptive theory of dynamic capabilities: connecting strategic choice, learning, and competition," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 26(5), pages 747-762.
    28. Tvedt, Jostein, 2002. "The effect of uncertainty and aggregate investments on crude oil price dynamics," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 615-628, November.
    29. Virginia Acha & Lucia Cusmano, 2005. "Governance and co-ordination of distributed innovation processes: patterns of R&D co-operation in the upstream petroleum industry," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1-2), pages 1-21.
    30. Arkadiy V. Sakhartov & Timothy B. Folta, 2015. "Getting beyond relatedness as a driver of corporate value," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(13), pages 1939-1959, December.
    31. Tuukka Mäkitie & Allan D. Andersen & Jens Hanson & Håkon E. Normann & Taran M. Thune, 2016. "Established sectors expediting clean technology industries? The Norwegian oil and gas sector's influence on offshore wind power," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20161208, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    32. Chaiyapa, Warathida & Esteban, Miguel & Kameyama, Yasuko, 2018. "Why go green? Discourse analysis of motivations for Thailand's oil and gas companies to invest in renewable energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 448-459.
    33. Roy Endré Dahl & Petter Osmundsen, 2014. "Estimating Fluctuations in Oil and Gas Investment," CESifo Working Paper Series 5011, CESifo.
    34. Levy, David L. & Kolk, Ans, 2002. "Strategic Responses to Global Climate Change: Conflicting Pressures on Multinationals in the Oil Industry," Business and Politics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(3), pages 275-300, November.
    35. Breschi, Stefano & Lissoni, Francesco & Malerba, Franco, 2003. "Knowledge-relatedness in firm technological diversification," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 69-87, January.
    36. David J. Teece & Gary Pisano & Amy Shuen, 1997. "Dynamic capabilities and strategic management," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(7), pages 509-533, August.
    37. Levy David L. & Kolk Ans, 2002. "Strategic Responses to Global Climate Change: Conflicting Pressures on Multinationals in the Oil Industry," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 4(3), pages 1-27, November.
    38. Jens Hanson, 2017. "Established industries as foundations for emerging technological innovation systems: The case of solar photovoltaics in Norway," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20170531, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    39. Penna, Caetano C.R. & Geels, Frank W., 2012. "Multi-dimensional struggles in the greening of industry: A dialectic issue lifecycle model and case study," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 79(6), pages 999-1020.
    40. Florian Kern & Adrian Smith & Chris Shaw & Rob Raven & Bram Verhees, 2014. "From laggard to leader: Explaining offshore wind developments in the UK," SPRU Working Paper Series 2014-02, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    41. Robert M. Grant, 2003. "Strategic planning in a turbulent environment: evidence from the oil majors," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(6), pages 491-517, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Alexey Cherepovitsyn & Aleksei Kazanin & Evgeniya Rutenko, 2023. "Strategic Priorities for Green Diversification of Oil and Gas Companies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-17, June.
    2. Wu, Yunna & Liao, Mingjuan & Hu, Mengyao & Lin, Jiawei & Zhou, Jianli & Zhang, Buyuan & Xu, Chuanbo, 2020. "A decision framework of low-speed wind farm projects in hilly areas based on DEMATEL-entropy-TODIM method from the sustainability perspective: A case in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    3. Tuukka Mäkitie & Allan D. Andersen & Jens Hanson, 2019. "Multidimensional relatedness between innovation systems in sustainability transitions," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1926, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Sep 2019.
    4. Jan Fagerberg & Håkon Endresen Normann, 2022. "Innovation policy, regulation and the transition to net zero," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20220531, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    5. Leila Eyni & Milan Stanko & Heiner Schümann & Ali Hassan Qureshi, 2022. "Dynamic Process Modeling of Topside Systems for Evaluating Power Consumption and Possibilities of Using Wind Power," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-16, December.
    6. van der Loos, Adriaan & Normann, Håkon E. & Hanson, Jens & Hekkert, Marko P., 2021. "The co-evolution of innovation systems and context: Offshore wind in Norway and the Netherlands," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    7. Elena Shadrina, 2020. "Non-Hydropower Renewable Energy in Central Asia: Assessment of Deployment Status and Analysis of Underlying Factors," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-29, June.
    8. Armenia Androniceanu & Oana Matilda Sabie, 2022. "Overview of Green Energy as a Real Strategic Option for Sustainable Development," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-35, November.
    9. Kilinc-Ata, Nurcan & Proskuryakova, Liliana N., 2023. "Empirical analysis of the Russian power industry's transition to sustainability," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    10. Rongyong Zhao & Daheng Dong & Cuiling Li & Steven Liu & Hao Zhang & Miyuan Li & Wenzhong Shen, 2020. "An Improved Power Control Approach for Wind Turbine Fatigue Balancing in an Offshore Wind Farm," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-20, March.
    11. Samson Afewerki & Asbjørn Karlsen, 2021. "Policy mixes for just sustainable regional development in industrially overspecialized regions: the case of two Norwegian petro-maritime regions," PEGIS geo-disc-2021_02, Institute for Economic Geography and GIScience, Department of Socioeconomics, Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    12. Gazi Salah Uddin & Maziar Sahamkhadam & Muhammad Yahya & Ou Tang, 2023. "Investment opportunities in the energy market: What can be learnt from different energy sectors," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(4), pages 3611-3636, October.

    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. Tuukka Mäkitie & Håkon E. Normann & Taran M. Thune & Jakoba Sraml Gonzalez, 2018. "The green flings: market fluctuations and incumbent energy industries’ engagement in renewable energy," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20180524, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    2. Cheng Wang & Tao Lv & Rongjiang Cai & Jianfeng Xu & Liya Wang, 2022. "Bibliometric Analysis of Multi-Level Perspective on Sustainability Transition Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-31, March.
    3. Geels, Frank W. & Kern, Florian & Fuchs, Gerhard & Hinderer, Nele & Kungl, Gregor & Mylan, Josephine & Neukirch, Mario & Wassermann, Sandra, 2016. "The enactment of socio-technical transition pathways: A reformulated typology and a comparative multi-level analysis of the German and UK low-carbon electricity transitions (1990–2014)," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 896-913.
    4. Chaiyapa, Warathida & Esteban, Miguel & Kameyama, Yasuko, 2018. "Why go green? Discourse analysis of motivations for Thailand's oil and gas companies to invest in renewable energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 448-459.
    5. van der Loos, Adriaan & Normann, Håkon E. & Hanson, Jens & Hekkert, Marko P., 2021. "The co-evolution of innovation systems and context: Offshore wind in Norway and the Netherlands," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    6. Phil Johnstone & Andy Stirling, 2015. "Comparing Nuclear Power Trajectories inGermany And the UK: From ‘Regimes’ to ‘Democracies’ in Sociotechnical Transitions and Discontinuities," SPRU Working Paper Series 2015-18, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    7. Steen, Markus & Weaver, Tyson, 2017. "Incumbents’ diversification and cross-sectorial energy industry dynamics," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(6), pages 1071-1086.
    8. Jan Fagerberg & Håkon Endresen Normann, 2022. "Innovation policy, regulation and the transition to net zero," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20220531, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    9. Hellsmark, Hans & Hansen, Teis, 2020. "A new dawn for (oil) incumbents within the bioeconomy? Trade-offs and lessons for policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    10. Edmondson, Duncan L. & Kern, Florian & Rogge, Karoline S., 2019. "The co-evolution of policy mixes and socio-technical systems: Towards a conceptual framework of policy mix feedback in sustainability transitions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(10).
    11. Pinkse, Jonatan & van den Buuse, Daniel, 2012. "The development and commercialization of solar PV technology in the oil industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 11-20.
    12. Tiberio Daddi & Niccolò Maria Todaro & Maria Rosa De Giacomo & Marco Frey, 2018. "A Systematic Review of the Use of Organization and Management Theories in Climate Change Studies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 456-474, May.
    13. Kivimaa, Paula & Kern, Florian, 2016. "Creative destruction or mere niche support? Innovation policy mixes for sustainability transitions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 205-217.
    14. Sarasini, Steven, 2013. "Institutional work and climate change: Corporate political action in the Swedish electricity industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 480-489.
    15. Nhat Strøm-Andersen, 2019. "Incumbents in the Transition Towards the Bioeconomy: The Role of Dynamic Capabilities and Innovation Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-20, September.
    16. Matthew Lockwood & Caroline Kuzemko & Catherine Mitchell & Richard Hoggett, 2017. "Historical institutionalism and the politics of sustainable energy transitions: A research agenda," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 35(2), pages 312-333, March.
    17. Kungl, Gregor & Geels, Frank W., 2016. "The destabilisation of the German electricity industry (1998-2015): Application and extension of a multi-dimensional framework," Research Contributions to Organizational Sociology and Innovation Studies, SOI Discussion Papers 2016-02, University of Stuttgart, Institute for Social Sciences, Department of Organizational Sociology and Innovation Studies.
    18. Adrian Lüthge, 2020. "The concept of relatedness in diversification research: review and synthesis," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 1-35, February.
    19. Allan Dahl Andersen & Jochen Markard, 2017. "Innovating incumbents and technological complementarities: How recent dynamics in the HVDC industry can inform transition theories," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20170612, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    20. Upham, Dr Paul & Sovacool, Prof Benjamin & Ghosh, Dr Bipashyee, 2022. "Just transitions for industrial decarbonisation: A framework for innovation, participation, and justice," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).

    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:eee:enepol:v:127:y:2019:i:c:p:269-279. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    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.