Energy efficiency in industrial organizations - A cultural-institutional framework of decision-making

In an effort to make the cultural and institutional aspects of energy efficiency in industrial organizations more visible, this article introduces a theoretical framework of decision-making processes. Viewing industrial organizations as cultural systems embedded in wider social contexts, I have developed a multilevel framework addressing institutional, organizational, and individual dimensions shaping decisions on energy efficiency. The Framework draws from neo-institutional theory, the attention-based view of the firm, a psychosocial conception of organizational culture and ethnographic fieldwork. I conclude that decisions on energy efficiency are results of problematization and theorization processes. These processes emerge between the institutional issue-field, the organization, and its members. The model explains decisions on energy efficiency shaped by the institutional environment, the organizational processes (energy-efficiency practices, climate and culture) and individuals' characteristics. The framework: introduces a meta-theory of decision making on energy efficiency in industrial organizations and provides a concept for empirical analysis.