One style to build them all: Corporate culture and innovation in the offshore wind industry

Benjamin K. Sovacool and Peter Enevoldsen

Energy Policy, 2015, vol. 86, issue C, 402-415

Abstract: This study explores how Vestas and Siemens Wind Power manage technological innovation in the offshore wind power industry. It utilizes the concept of open and closed “research styles” to investigate how each company designs, constructs, and maintains offshore wind turbines. The article starts by summarizing three of the main innovation challenges facing the offshore wind sector—harsh conditions, capital intensity, and production bottlenecks—before it delves into the specific details about how Vestas and Siemens Wind Power approach turbine development. It divides this discussion into six distinct segments: resources and expenditures, stakeholder involvement and collaboration, testing and maintenance, control and knowledge management, adaptability of designs, and customization and marketing. The study finds that both Vestas and SWP, despite their corporate and cultural differences, utilize the same elements of closed and open styles. It lastly suggests that the notion of style itself may challenge certain assumptions held by scholars about managing the research and innovation process.

Keywords: Wind energy; Research style; Technological innovation systems (TIS); Offshore wind; Vestas; SiemensWind Power (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:enepol:v:86:y:2015:i:c:p:402-415

DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2015.07.015

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