The Relationship between Organizational Culture and Energy Performance: A Municipal Energy Manager Level Study

Abstract

For energy managers, finding personal meaning in the activities they are engaged in and gaining\ud an identity in connection between energy efficiency and organizational goals is a necessary\ud condition to mobilize passion and commitment, which in turn are fundamental to achieve\ud organizational goals under tight budget constraints. Despite this, little is known about how\ud municipalities, which are typical budget-constrained organizations, can enhance the empowerment\ud of employees with roles as energy managers. This paper draws from the literature on\ud the person–organization fit in order to adapt and test the hypothesis that multiple dimensions\ud of organizational culture are strong predictors of perceived managerial and technical energy performance.\ud Data from 729 questionnaire responses from energy managers of Italian municipalities\ud show that formalization, team orientation, innovation, centralization and reward systems are the\ud key elements that enable energy managers to act as business partners instead of task managers.\ud Causal relations are discussed and presented along with theoretical and policy implications that\ud can provide inspiration also to private organizations. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd\ud and ERP Environmen

Examining green policy and sustainable development from the perspective of differentiation and strategic alignment

“…A divergent green management strategy refers to the strategic intent that a firm takes to differentiate itself from competitors in green management activities (Boehe & Cruz, ; Ling, ; Misani, ; Porter & Kramer, ). A divergent green management strategy may include various contents, such as a green mission statement, talent management, stakeholder management, and shared values (Dechant & Altman, ; Ling & Jaw, ; Rizzi, Annunziata, & Frey, ; Wijethilake & Lama, ). The instrument came from studies of Dechant and Altman (), Misani (), Jaw and Ling (), and Wijethilake and Lama ().…”

Strategy Context of Decision Making for Improved Energy Efficiency in Industrial Energy Systems

“…Thus, for example, as a result of the study of the conditions necessary for the successful implementation of energy-efficient solutions in a number of European companies, a positive correlation between the production of innovative products and the introduction of energy-efficient technologies was identified [41,42]. Some Italian companies were used as an example to substantiate the assumption that the diversification of innovation activities is a crucial factor in the improvement of energy efficiency [43,44]. Similar results have been obtained by Chinese [45,46] and Korean experts [47].…”

Sustainable Smart Cities and Energy Management: The Labor Market Perspective

“…More information on concrete abilities, competences, and skills are provided in several technical reports, studies, and articles [86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94].…”

“…Currently, energy managers rather act as business partners instead of task managers [94]. Energy managers should be up to date with current concepts and technologies.…”