Transformation of energy systems is influencing economic policy agendas all over the world, particularly so in industrialized countries. In this process, Germany has taken a pioneering role. Technical innovations, institutional frameworks, and business models established there are of interest...

With liberalization in 1998, numerous firms have entered the German retail electricity market, including newly formed cooperatives. Based on Transaction Cost Economics, we develop a theoretical framework seeking to explain preferences for electricity supplied by cooperatives from a consumer...

The imbalances in bargaining power between the contracting parties in the food supply chain have drawn much attention, also from policy makers. The European Commission is committed to facilitate the restructuring of the sector by encouraging the creation of voluntary agricultural producer...