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Mikael Klintman

Mikael Klintman

Professor

Mikael Klintman

The institutionalisation of corporate action on climate change in the Swedish electricity industry

Author

  • Steven Sarasini

Summary, in English

This thesis utilises qualitative methods to examine what drives /

impedes corporate action on climate change in the Swedish

electricity industry. Reasoning from new institutional theory, this

thesis examines the role of institutional logics as a determinant of

corporate actions. Institutional logics are shared cognitively

institutionalised structures that are thought to limit individuals’

capacity for free and autonomous action. Theoretically the thesis

examines the concept of agency vis-à-vis the ability of organisational

actors to perform institutional work on institutional logics.



The thesis shows that public policy is the most important driver of

corporate action on climate change from a company perspective,

despite the fact that Swedish electricity companies operate in a

liberalised market context. It also shows that corporate action on

climate change is part of a broader institutional change project that

seeks to bring about a transition to more sustainable means of

electricity production. The change project is part of a programme of

ecological modernisation, which is described here as a hybrid logic

in that it combines traditional institutional orders such as

government, the private sector and science and technology as a

means to mitigate transboundary environmental problems. The thesis

concludes that a range of organisational actors collectively

participate in the ongoing modification and transformation of the

hybrid ecological modernisation logic via a process of

communicative interaction. The thesis analyses these findings in

terms of their implications for Swedish research policy.

Department/s

  • Research Policy Institute (RPI)

Publishing year

2011

Language

English

Document type

Dissertation

Topic

  • Social Sciences Interdisciplinary

Status

Published

Supervisor

  • Merle Jacob
  • Mikael Klintman
  • Eva Lövbrand

Defence date

23 September 2011

Defence time

10:00

Defence place

MNO Huset, Sal O104, Sölvegatan 16, Lund

Opponent

  • Volker Hoffmann