Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria
Given the urgent need for a fundamental shift in our unsustainable energy systems, this research proposal explores the potential of open organizing as a novel approach to driving this required energy transition. While technological advances often dominate discussions, energy transitions are fundamentally about human choices, consumption patterns, and organizational strategies. Focusing on the concept of open organizing, which emphasizes inclusion, transparency, and decision-making rights as the three pillars of openness, our research critically explores its potential to facilitate innovative social arrangements for sustainability. Our empirical setting is the 'Energy Masterplan', a nationwide initiative involving more than 202 organizations from different sectors to identify appropriate measures to tackle energy transitions. The overall goal is to achieve the country's ambitious targets of 100% green energy by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2040. The primary objective of our research is to examine the challenges of implementing the results of open organizing at the level of an individual organizations. With only a minority of intended strategies successfully implemented, our research aims to understand the barriers to translating open organizing initiatives into tangible outcomes.
