Innovation and organizational networks Barriers to energy efficiency
in the US housing industry
Energy Policy, 22 (10):
867-876 (1994/10)Zusammenfassung
Models that assume optimizing consumers and rational firms fail to
account for market resistance to cost-effective energy-efficiency
improvements. This paper looks for clues in social science research
on organizations and technology change. An alternative model derived
from those literatures is proposed which focuses on the role of organizational
networks in shaping and constraining innovation. This perspective
is applied to data from a study of residential cooling, in which
we find that producer networks routinely limit technology transfer
in a variety of ways. Some of the influences of market factors, industry
structure, technical knowledge and ancillary network actors (eg architects,
appraisers, realtors, lenders, utility managers and code officials)
are explored. Non-energy developments that are likely to influence
future energy-efficiency choices in these systems are also considered,
and research and policy recommendations are offered.
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