We’re sorry, something doesn't seem to be working properly.

Please try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, please contact support so we can address the problem.

Innovative Enterprise, Industrial Ecosystems, and Sustainable Transition: The Case of Transforming DONG Energy to Ørsted | SpringerLink
Skip to main content

Innovative Enterprise, Industrial Ecosystems, and Sustainable Transition: The Case of Transforming DONG Energy to Ørsted

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Handbook of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

Abstract

This chapter examines how evolutionary and institutional economic theory can improve our understanding of the politico-economic dynamics of the green transition. The authors focus on how path dependency in technological systems perpetuate and reward unsustainable business practices, while mission-oriented policy programs can break the feedback loops that keep the trajectory in place. Significantly, policy programs creating sizable markets for renewable energy have generated sufficient learning curves to move renewable energy sources within the cost range of fossil fuels, thereby enabling private profit incentives to accelerate the transition in our immediate future. These gains have depended on managerial decisions to co-evolve their businesses with the institutional environment shaped by policymaking despite uncertainty of technological progress, market evolution, and political credibility. We explore the case of how the Danish energy company Dong Energy was transformed from a fossil fuel company to the world’s leading offshore wind developer. These dynamics point to the need to create markets through political institutions for the coming generations of sustainable technologies to enable potential gains from learning, network effects, and economies of scale to be identified and exploited.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 1,399.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 1,699.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

Download references

Acknowledgments

The corresponding author thanks Antonio Andreoni, Rosie Collington and Matt Hopkins for thoughtful deliberations on the theoretical argument and the current direction of technology.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Asker Voldsgaard .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Voldsgaard, A., Rüdiger, M. (2022). Innovative Enterprise, Industrial Ecosystems, and Sustainable Transition: The Case of Transforming DONG Energy to Ørsted. In: Lackner, M., Sajjadi, B., Chen, WY. (eds) Handbook of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72579-2_160

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics