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Surviving the Energy Transition: Development of a Proposal for Evaluating Sustainable Business Models for Incumbents in Germany’s Electricity Market

Author

Listed:
  • Oliver Wagner

    (Energy, Transport and Climate Policy Division, Wuppertal Institute, 42103 Wuppertal, Germany)

  • Thomas Adisorn

    (Energy, Transport and Climate Policy Division, Wuppertal Institute, 42103 Wuppertal, Germany)

  • Lena Tholen

    (Energy, Transport and Climate Policy Division, Wuppertal Institute, 42103 Wuppertal, Germany)

  • Dagmar Kiyar

    (Energy, Transport and Climate Policy Division, Wuppertal Institute, 42103 Wuppertal, Germany)

Abstract

In the light of Germany’s chosen path towards the energy transition, the regulatory framework has changed considerably. New players have succeeded in entering the market, and renewable energies have become increasingly competitive. Greater electrification of the transport and heating sectors will be needed in the future to achieve national climate targets. Against this background, Germany’s big energy companies need to be sure that their sales will increase. However, they were unable to anticipate this development, and made strategic mistakes in the past. The development of sustainable business models in line with the energy transition failed to materialize. Now it is becoming increasingly clear that companies must create new business models to survive in the long term. These business models have to keep with the tradition, whilst meeting the needs of low-carbon power supplies. In this paper, we will examine the past and future challenges of the four energy companies and develop a proposal for evaluating sustainable business models. For this purpose, we use the multi-level perspective to categorize developments in the electricity market over the last 50 years, and then apply a multi-criteria analysis to derive five suitable business models from the results.

Suggested Citation

  • Oliver Wagner & Thomas Adisorn & Lena Tholen & Dagmar Kiyar, 2020. "Surviving the Energy Transition: Development of a Proposal for Evaluating Sustainable Business Models for Incumbents in Germany’s Electricity Market," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:3:p:730-:d:317782
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    3. Anika Süß & Kristina Höse & Uwe Götze, 2021. "Sustainability-Oriented Business Model Evaluation—A Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-15, September.
    4. Raphael Moser & Chun Xia-Bauer & Johannes Thema & Florin Vondung, 2021. "Solar Prosumers in the German Energy Transition: A Multi-Level Perspective Analysis of the German ‘ Mieterstrom ’ Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-16, February.
    5. Oliver Wagner & Thomas Götz, 2021. "Presentation of the 5Ds in Energy Policy: A Policy Paper to Show How Germany Can Regain Its Role as a Pioneer in Energy Policy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-19, October.
    6. Konstantinos Koasidis & Alexandros Nikas & Hera Neofytou & Anastasios Karamaneas & Ajay Gambhir & Jakob Wachsmuth & Haris Doukas, 2020. "The UK and German Low-Carbon Industry Transitions from a Sectoral Innovation and System Failures Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-34, September.
    7. Arash Najmaei & Zahra Sadeghinejad, 2023. "Green and sustainable business models: historical roots, growth trajectory, conceptual architecture and an agenda for future research—A bibliometric review of green and sustainable business models," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(2), pages 957-999, February.

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