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Moritz Loock
Title
Prof. Dr.
Last Name
Loock
First name
Moritz
Email
moritz.loock@unisg.ch
Phone
+41 71 224 2586
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1 - 10 of 34
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PublicationThe double-edged sword of ethical nudges: Does inducing hypocrisy help or hinder the adoption of pro-environmental behaviorsTo promote ethical and pro-environmental behavior, hypocrisy sometimes is made salient to individuals: i.e., they are made aware that their past behavior does not conform to expressed norms. The fact that this strategy may backfire and may even reduce the likelihood of individuals performing the desired action has been largely overlooked. This paper develops a theory of how hypocrisy stimulates two opposing heuristic processes: one that favors the former, positive outcome (the eco-citizenship effect) and one that renders hypocrisy non-effective (resistance-to-habit-change effect). We test the model and reveal important boundary conditions using the finding of a comprehensive field experiment (1377 consumers). Situational (public vs. private advocacy) and individual factors (low vs. high construal levels) determine which of the competing mechanisms is activated. The paper contributes a novel understanding to managers and scholars of how hypocrisy operates and illuminates the contingencies of when this strategy is beneficial.Type: journal articleJournal: Journal of business ethics : JOBE
Scopus© Citations 30 -
PublicationThe flexible prosumer: Measuring the willingness to co-create distributed flexibilityRising shares of fluctuating renewables increase the need for flexibility in the power market. At the same time, the emergence of the prosumer has created new opportunities for co-creation of distributed flexibility. As of yet, there is surprisingly little empirical analysis in terms of whether individuals are actually ready to co-create flexibility, and if so, under which conditions these resources can be mobilized by grid operators or electricity supply companies. We address this gap in the energy economics literature with three studies analyzing in total 7′216 individual decisions in a series of choice experiments with 902 study participants in three main domains of residential energy prosumption: (1) solar PV plus storage, (2) electric mobility, (3) heat pumps. We develop a novel measure of the prosumers’ willingness to co-create flexibility, and solicit their preferences for power supply contracts with varying levels of flexibility to derive implied discomfort costs. Our results indicate that current and potential electric car and solar PV users exhibit a higher willingness to co-create flexibility than heat pump users. Reaping the potential in those two domains requires taking the prosumer perspective into account when designing policy instruments and creating adequate business models.Type: journal articleJournal: Energy policyVolume: 114
Scopus© Citations 142 -
PublicationTiming-based business models for flexibility creation in the electric power sectorEnergy policies in many countries push for an increase in the generation of wind and solar power. Along these developments, the balance between supply and demand becomes more challenging as the generation of wind and solar power is volatile, and flexibility of supply and demand becomes valuable. As a consequence, companies in the electric power sector develop new business models that create flexibility through activities of timing supply and demand. Based on an extensive qualitative analysis of interviews and industry research in the energy industry, the paper at hand explores the role of timing-based business models in the power sector and sheds light on the mechanisms of flexibility creation through timing. In particular we distill four ideal-type business models of flexibility creation with timing and reveal how they can be classified along two dimensions, namely costs of multiplicity and intervention costs. We put forward that these business models offer ‘coupled services’, combining resource-centered and service-centered perspectives. This complementary character has important implications for energy policy.Type: journal articleJournal: Energy PolicyVolume: 92
Scopus© Citations 50 -
PublicationHeuristics in organizations: A review and a research agendaA systematic literature review of the articles published in the Journal of Business Research and other organization and management theory (OMT) journals reveals a substantial increase in the number of studies on heuristics. Anticipating the emerging influence of heuristics for OMT, we review the basic principles and the state of the art of its current application.We find that scholars have verified the applicability and value of individual heuristics in management on an individual level. However, scholars lack a detailed understanding of the role of heuristics in organizations. A distinct organization-level perspective on heuristics would contribute to an understanding of organizations as antecedents, subjects, and consequences of heuristics. The study here presents this potential together with a research agenda for heuristics and organizational processes.Type: journal articleJournal: Journal of Business ResearchVolume: 68Issue: 9
Scopus© Citations 86 -
PublicationPerformance Consequences of Fit between Financials and Strategy Descriptions in the Renewable Energy Industry: A contingent view on the business model consistency heuristicA dimension that has received little attention in business model-performance assessments is consistency or "configuration as a quality". Business model consistency in this regard indicates the degree of fit of different business model elements. Managers and researchers seem to follow a business model consistency heuristic that regards a high degree of consistency superior to lower degrees of consistency. However, when considering costs of consistency within emerging industries we also find arguments in favor of a low degree of consistency. This paper explores contingency factors that determine whether consistency is rational or not. Our proxy for measuring consistency is the fit between financials and business descriptions within multi-year observations of 210 wind and solar firms in the renewable energy industry. We find that contingency factors such as industry, business model-themes or pattern of firm growth can impact the consistency-performance relationship positively as well as negatively. Based on our findings, we propose to account for the distinct contingencies of business model consistency rather than uncritically considering business model consistency as being rational per se. Implications for managers, investors and researchers apply.Type: journal articleJournal: Die UnternehmungVolume: 69Issue: 3
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PublicationSustainable Development in Retailing: What is the Impact on Store Choice?Sustainability is gaining ground in the food retail industry. But empirical studies on sustainable development in retailing are rare when it comes to highlighting the customer's perspective. This paper investigates the impact of sustainability initiatives on store choice. We report from a web-based conjoint experiment with 153 customers from Austria, Germany and Switzerland and investigate 1,224 choice-decisions conducted between June and October 2009. We find that sustainability is more than a soft topic and has a hard impact on customers' store choice. In particular we show that price is not of paramount importance when it comes to store choice and if retailers consider different sustainability measures, they can positively impact store choice. We propose that retailers incorporate matters of sustainability in general management and performance oriented management. Further, more detailed implications apply.Type: journal articleJournal: Business Strategy and the EnvironmentVolume: 22Issue: 3DOI: 10.1002/bse.1748
Scopus© Citations 37 -
PublicationGoing Beyond Best Technology and Lowest Price : On Renewable Energy Investors' Preference for Service-driven Business ModelsRenewable energy is becoming increasingly important for economies in many countries. But still in an emerging industry, renewable energy requires supportive energy policy helping firms to develop and protect competitive advantages in global competition. As a guideline for designing such policy, we consult well-informed stakeholders within the renewable energy industry: investors. Their preferences serve as explorative indicator for assessing which business models might succeed in competition. To contribute to only limited research on renewable energy investors' preferences, we ask, which business models investment managers for renewable energy prefer to invest in. We report from an explorative study of 380 choices of renewable energy investment managers. Based on the stated preferences, we modelled three generic business models to calculate the share of investors' preferences. We find exiting evidence: a "customer intimacy" business model that proposes best services is much more preferred by investors than business models that propose lowest price or best technology. Policy-makers can use those insights for designing policy that supports service-driven business models for renewable energy with a scope on customer needs rather than technology or price. Additionally, we state important implications for renewable energy entrepreneurs, managers and research.Type: journal articleJournal: Energy PolicyVolume: 40Issue: 3
Scopus© Citations 78 -
PublicationTalking about a Better Place : How Shai Agassi is Creating a Mass Market for Electric VehiclesAccording to creation theory, opportunities do not exist independently of entrepreneurs; instead they are created by the actions of entrepreneurs. However, little is known about the process of how opportunities are actually acted upon. We explore the role of communication in opportunity enactment by analysing an extreme case: Shai Agassi and the frequently cited business model innovation of his company Better Place, with which he wants to eliminate the car industry's dependence on oil. For the first time, we take a look at the practice of communication of the case and find patterns that play a vital role in creating a market. The findings of our case study research can help entrepreneurs to understand communication practices for changing an established industry. The findings also further advance our understanding of entrepreneurial practices within creation theory.Type: journal articleJournal: Journal of EntrepreneurshipVolume: 21Issue: 2
Scopus© Citations 3 -
PublicationSustainability: How stakeholder perceptions differ from corporate reality(Haas School of Business, University of California, 2012-10)
Scopus© Citations 111 -
PublicationDebt For Brands: Tracking Down A Bias In Financing Photovoltaic Projects In GermanyWhat kinds of PV project configurations do lenders prefer to finance? Recent developments in the field of renewable energy project finance have reinforced the need for investigation, as fundraising has become more challenging and project evaluation by banks more demanding. To contribute to the limited research in this field, we focus on photovoltaic projects and report from an Adaptive Choice-Based Conjoint experiment with German experts in project finance. We find a bias which we call "debt for brands". Simulations reveal that debt investors prefer projects with premium brand technology (modules, inverters) to low-cost technology. Although we assumed that lenders prefer projects with the highest Debt Service Cover Ratio (DSCR), they favour projects with lower DSCR, as long as those projects include premium brand technology. We find that, if premium brands were engaged, lenders would also choose projects with higher risk. Our findings have implications for renewable energy project finance in practice and researchType: journal articleJournal: Journal of Cleaner ProductionVolume: 19Issue: 12
Scopus© Citations 21