Are efficiency improvements in the use of natural resources the key for sustainable development, are they the solution to environmental problems, or will second round effects - so-called rebound effects - compensate or even overcompensate potential savings, will they fire back? The answer to...

In Germany, solar thermal systems (STS) have only diffused to a minor extent yet. This paper analyzes, which demand side factors are decisive for the further proliferation of this environmentally benign technology. Making use of a consumer survey in North-West Germany in 2007, we examine the...

In the recent last years, in particular in the aftermath of the global financial and economic crisis, many countries initiated economic recovery plans with a major focus on stimulating green entrepreneurial activities to revive economic growth. Further, the recovery plans intend to improve a...

That institutions matter is widely accepted among economists and so are social norms as an important category of informal institutions. Social norms matter in many economic situations, but in particular for markets. The economic literature has studied the interrelation between markets and social...

Two related trends characterize the recent past: value propositions are migrating from the physical to the informational, and value creation is shifting from firms to consumers. These two trends meet in the phenomenon of ‘consumer generated intellectual property' (CGIP). In this paper, we...

This paper summarizes an explorative study of the novel design and security that contribute to consumers’ adoption of an integrated, single platform payment system encompassing card, Internet and mobile technologies in the ASEAN. The attempt to survey these areas in an integrated fashion is a...

This paper examines how the different characteristics of both electric vehicles themselves and the consumers would influence the consumption behavior on electric vehicles. Data collection is based on the questionnaire design using the orthogonal experimental method and large-scale stated...

The intensive development of global markets correlated with the modern consumer’s demands led to a new complex approach concerning the food sector and its’ main determinants. Old market theories that describe the food market mechanisms as a simple three point process: “to produce – to...

This paper summarises some of the content and conclusions of a new book which discusses the innovation, design and evolution of six consumer products – bicycles, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, electric lamps, television and mobile (cell) phones – from their original inventions to the...