This paper is based on the extensive field work of Josefin Borg, former PhD student at Chalmers. I was her co-supervisor for two years. The paper is an in-depth look at an attempt to create a database for sharing knowledge and information related to energy efficiency. Sounds like a straightforward project, right? It turned out to be more complicated than expected… Abstract as follows:
This article explores the complexities of establishing knowledge-sharing practices between organizations through a case study of the creation of a database for energy efficiency measures relevant to the shipping sector. As researchers and policy-makers tend to point towards knowledge sharing and collaboration as means towards a more energy-efficient society, there is a need to better understand the knowledge sharing practices in such initiatives. The study is based upon extensive fieldwork where the first author was recruited to a collaborative network on energy efficiency in the shipping sector, to aid in the development of the collaboration while carrying out participatory-observational research in an ethnographic tradition. The study highlights the need to maintain realistic expectations for new knowledge-sharing collaborations, and the necessity to allow such arrangements to develop over time.
Borg, J. and von Knorring, H. (2019). Inter-organizational collaboration for energy efficiency in the maritime sector: the case of a database project. Energy Efficiency. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-019-09822-x
Josefin Borg also co-wrote a paper on this topic together with associate professor Anna Yström:
Borg, J., & Yström, A. (2019). Collaborating for energy efficiency in Swedish shipping industry: interrelating practice and challenges. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 1-22.
Increasing energy efficiency in shipping 