Economic and technological forecasting competencies of German energy companies

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to extend the small body of literature on energy industry transitions on firm level. A growing number of articles shed light on paradigm shifts in the energy industry and the influence of renewable energies on industry structures. In the majority of cases, the authors analyze changes on a global or national level. Design/methodology/approach – Energy companies’ forecasting capabilities are particularly important to enable them to react in time to upcoming changes in industry structures. In this context, we analyze annual reports of German energy companies to evaluate their economic and technological forecasting competencies. Findings – Big energy providers offer high economic forecasting quality, but seem to be less able to derive valid forecasts in terms of renewable energies from the currently unstable political frameworks. On the contrary, renewable energy companies do not seem to suffer from these difficulties and provide good foresting accuracy in terms of renewable energy development, but show less accurate economic forecasting quality. Practical implications – Big energy providers need to find the means of responding to the challenges and integrate changing political guidelines and support into their forecasting system. Renewable energy companies, in contrast, should focus on company-level profitability and the respective economic forecasting competencies. Originality/value – This paper makes a significant contribution to the literature on the subject of energy industry transitions by providing insights from publicly available data on firm level. The findings are highly relevant for managers of the energy industry and policy makers in this field.

Exploring the relationship among ESG, innovation, and economic and financial performance: evidence from the energy sector

“…So, it is expected that the large companies of the G20 have greater commitment to ESG performance. In this group, companies in the energy sector were studied as the development and implementation of new technologies in this sector have been and will be central to the transition to more efficient forms of energy consumption and production (Kehrel and Sick, 2014). Additionally, energy companies operate in an environmentally sensitive sector, which is essential for dialogue with stakeholders (Hassan and Kouhy, 2015; Slacik and Greiling, 2020).…”

Market convergence in the field of stationary energy storage systems

“…Since the core business of today's energy industry is more generation than storage, a convergence in this area of stationary energy storage would not threaten its core business. However, the global energy industry is currently facing enormous challenges due to the shift from mainly fossil-based to renewables-based power generation and finds itself in a phase of radical change [17]. Moreover, with the increasing use of renewables, there will be an increasing need for stationary storage solutions, which offers potential for energy companies to extend their business and enter new markets.…”

Innovation networks in the German energy industry

“…A growing body of research has therefore begun to investigate how firms in the energy sector might navigate the waters of such disruptive change. Thus far, this research has concentrated on revealing success factors for handling changes in the resource base (Pätäri, 2010), delineating business models for REs (Richter, 2012) or examining companies’ forecasting capabilities in relation to economic change and the progress of RE technologies (Kehrel and Sick, 2014). Against this background, organizational innovativeness which is defined as the propensity of a firm to innovate or develop new products, production processes or forms of organization (Ettlie et al , 1984) represents an essential capability in energy industry presently.…”