PhD student: Mr E. Doorman

Promotor: Mrs Prof A.J.C. de Moor-van Vugt

Duration: 1/9/2010 - 31/8/2014

Abstract:

The aim of this research project is to identify the institutional changes involved in a transition to a smarter energy grid in the Netherlands and to identify under which conditions these institutional changes may or may not occur. Institutions are defined as all humanly devised non-material constraints that shape and restrict human behavior, notably formal and informal rules and patterns of thought. A path dependency perspective will be used analyze institutional change. It will be used to characterize the current system and the desired transition and to generate hypothesis about the process. Cases studies will be used to determine whether the expected processes can be found empirically. On the basis of this research it will be possible to say to what extent path dependency theory adequately describes the transition to smarter grids in the Netherlands. This, in turn, can lead to policy recommendations as to how the transition could be facilitated.