Linking energy-related strategic flexibility and energy efficiency – The mediating role of management control systems choice

Schulze, Mike; Heidenreich, Sven

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.09.231

Cited by 19 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Concerning potential controls, we screened past literature on variables that were most consistently found to be relevant in environmental control and energy management studies (e.g., Henri and Journeault ; Schulze and Heidenreich ; Pondeville et al. ).…”

Section: Research Design and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Energy Management Control Systems on Energy Efficiency in the German Manufacturing Industry

Schulze

Heidenreich

Spieth

2017

J of Industrial Ecology

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Although previous studies point to much (untapped) potential for energy efficiency enhancement in industry, empirical research that adapts findings of environmental control to the context of energy management remains widely neglected. Specifically, previous environmental research suggests that the implementation of energy management control systems (EnMCS) could be an effective lever for companies to enhance their production systems and operations toward energy efficiency. Yet, empirical evidence for this theoretical proposition is rather missing; thus, debate continues regarding whether the high investments to set up a comprehensive EnMCS pay off in the long run. Based on a sample of 236 German manufacturing companies, this study combines primary data that capture the configuration of EnMCS with secondary data that were used to calculate energy efficiency. The results provide evidence that the extent of EnMCS implementation positively relates to firms' energy efficiency. Findings from additional moderation analysis suggest that companies might enhance the relationship of EnMCS and energy efficiency performance by establishing a full-time energy manager or by using external energy consulting support. Keywords:eco-efficiency energy efficiency environmental improvement environmental management environmental management system industrial ecologyConflict of interest statement: The authors have no conflict to declare.

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Section: Research Design and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Energy Management Control Systems on Energy Efficiency in the German Manufacturing Industry

Schulze

Heidenreich

Spieth

2017

J of Industrial Ecology

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“…According to the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987, p. 8), sustainability refers to business policies and practices that “meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Over the past decade, several studies (e.g., McKinsey, 2011; PriceWaterhouseCooper, 2014) confirmed that firms increasingly commit to and integrate sustainability in their business processes and operations. Governmental regulations (Campbell, 2007; Schulze & Heidenreich, 2017) and the mass media's influence (Nikolaeva & Bicho, 2011) pressurized companies to integrate a comprehensive understanding of sustainability as the balancing of social, environmental, and economic goals (Elkington, 1997; Hall et al, 2010). Sustainability's increasing importance for businesses, therefore, raises the question of its business case (Du et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Facilitating business model innovation: The influence of sustainability and the mediating role of strategic orientations

Klein

Spieth

Heidenreich

2021

J of Product Innov Manag

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Businesses increasingly incorporate the sustainability aspects into their products, services, and processes that drive innovation. While extant research on the linkage between sustainability and innovation has gained momentum over the past years, prior research has predominantly focused on sustainability's performance impacts (e.g., financially and environmentally) and product innovation outputs, neglecting the internal mechanisms that leverage sustainability. While findings from previous studies suggest that sustainability may drive business model innovation (BMI), it still lacks empirical evidence on whether and how sustainability may influence the evolvement of BMI. Relying on the stimulus‐organism‐response framework, we address these shortcomings and argue that sustainability commitment influences certain strategic orientations that increase the propensity of innovating a business model (BM). Using a sample of 167 German manufacturing firms, we empirically investigate these relationships. Our results from structural equation modeling show that the sustainability commitment has no direct effect on BMIs. Our mediation analysis does, however, reveal that sustainability commitment has complex indirect effects driving BMI through strategic orientations, namely the firm's market, technology, and entrepreneurial orientation. By uncovering the mechanisms through which sustainability commitment drives BMI, our findings provide new impetus on BMI’s internal drivers and highlight the important role of certain strategic behaviors that guide managers’ strategic choices when planning to innovate a BM. From a managerial perspective, our findings thus provide mangers with guidelines to achieve the right configuration of strategic orientations when responding to sustainability issues by innovating their current BM.

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“…The increase in EE in the industrial sector represents a considerable increase in value for the economy and society so that EE is an opportunity for companies to reduce costs. This premise is corroborated in the literature through different points of views: Henriques and Catarino [1] and Kermeli et al [2] show concepts and market of EE in the industry; aspects of energy management and control are presented in [3][4][5][6]; and Hrovatin et al, Kang and Lee, Nehler and Rasmussen, Paramonova et al, Petek et al, Roy and Khastagir, and Aden direct and indirect benefits of EE are discussed in [7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. Along with cost reduction, EE can also contribute to improving productivity, profitability, competitiveness, and product quality [1,14,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 61%

Energy efficiency in Brazilian industrial plants: knowledge management and applications through an expert system

Buccieri

Balestieri

Matelli

2020

J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng.

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This article presents the application of an expert system (ES) prototype as an intelligent tool for preliminary diagnostics of energy efficiency (EE) potential in Brazilian industrial plants and knowledge management (KM) in organizational environments, aimed especially to small-and medium-sized enterprises. The prototype provides the diagnostics rationale through a module for an explanation to support the decision making and provide insights regarding the adoption of EE actions. The knowledge base required by the prototype is built from the expertise and experience of a group of experts in EE and professionals from the industrial sector. The knowledge acquired from this interaction is represented in the form of rules, which are computationally implemented through a well-known tool for developing ES. Then, the resulting prototype is validated by the same group of multidisciplinary experts. Two different applications are presented to demonstrate the possibilities of EE improvement in industrial plants. These applications also show the ES as a valuable resource for organizational KM. In such a context, the ES creates a permanent corporate memory regarding EE, so that the access to this knowledge is independent on the availability of the human experts in the area. The ES also turns EE expertise into lasting value through sharing and retention actions, contributing to further improvements and processes continuity.

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Linking energy-related strategic flexibility and energy efficiency – The mediating role of management control systems choice

Cited by 19 publications

References 41 publications

The Impact of Energy Management Control Systems on Energy Efficiency in the German Manufacturing Industry

The Impact of Energy Management Control Systems on Energy Efficiency in the German Manufacturing Industry

Facilitating business model innovation: The influence of sustainability and the mediating role of strategic orientations

Energy efficiency in Brazilian industrial plants: knowledge management and applications through an expert system

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