Managing Energy Sector Enterprises: Challenges, Methods and Research Trends II

Dear Colleagues,

Many years ago, referring to the field of social management, Kurt Lewin (1945, p. 129) argued: “Nothing is as practical as a good theory”. Six decades later, Sumantra Ghoshal (2005, p. 86) claimed with regard to management sciences that the opposite is also true: “Nothing is as dangerous as a bad theory”. These two arguments stress that theorists should attempt to propose novel ideas for conceptualizing or understanding problematic situations, ideas, which may suggest possibly rewarding new paths of dealing with such situations. By contrast, applied researchers are expected to supply theorists with vital information appropriate for practical problem solving. This Special Issue calls for both conceptual and practical research papers in management sciences from the perspective of energy sector companies.

Creating appropriate theory of managing energy sector enterprises is very demanding and challenging in these turbulent times. The energy sector involves companies engaged in the production and sale of energy, such as fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining, and distribution. Companies belonging to the energy sector are very diverse and range from traditional (oil and gas, coal-based) to more innovative ones utilizing nuclear, thermal, hydro, solar or wind power. Of importance are also stakeholders of energy companies with various, often very interdependent and conflicting demands on this type of firms. The energy sector constitutes an essential part of the infrastructure and maintenance of societies, leading to an increase in the number of firms entering this attractive but also very demanding business field. Many factors do influence running energy companies. To ensure their success, managers are striving to find solutions to emerging problems both in strategic and operational areas. Issues related to strategic management, organizational restructuring, marketing, innovations management, and finance management are of importance today to every organization operating in the energy sector.

How can we then select the appropriate methods for problem solving in energy firms? How can we deal with stakeholders on the company, contractors, customer, and government level? What are the current challenges and research trends in managing energy sector enterprises? What business models are utilized by this type of firms? These are some of the questions that are raised by this Special Issue. Moreover, good theory needs robust and appropriate research methods tailored to the investigated scientific problem. The methodology of management sciences plays a crucial role here and needs further development to effectively design and manage energy companies. It is largely dependent on culture, which leads to the development of various organizational solutions leading to the existence of “best practices” of managing energy firms. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and big data solutions contribute to research methods on management and energy but are also used in practice to support decision processes. International scientific collaboration is essential in developing and integrating various perspectives on management, offering innovative and up-to-date solutions. These are some, but not all of the theoretical and methodological issues being covered in this Special Issue. High-quality papers based on robust research methodology are warmly welcome to this issue.

Dr. Gracjana Noga
Prof. Dr. Rita Remeikienė
Prof. Dr. Marek Lisiński
Prof. Dr. Marek Szarucki
Guest Editors

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