Prosumer behaviour in emerging electricity systems

This dissertation investigates the interface between technology and society in the emerging electricity systems and in particular the role of the energy prosumer in the energy transition. It contributes to the understanding of the role of consumers in emerging electricity systems within the current EU energy policy context where consumer active participation is regarded as "a prerequisite for managing the energy transition successfully and in a cost-effective way". Emerging energy systems are characterized by a high level of complexity, especially for what concerns the behaviour of social actors. Social actors interact through physical and social networks by sharing information and learning from one another through social interactions. These interactions determine self-organization and emergent behaviours in energy consumption patterns and practices. I argue that the best suited tool to study emergent behaviours in energy consumption patterns and practices, and to investigate how consumers' preferences and choices lead to macro behaviours is agent based modelling. To build a sound characterization of the energy prosumer, I review the current social psychology and behavioural theories on sustainable consumption and collect evidence from EU energy prosumers surveys, studies and demand side management pilot projects. I employ these findings to inform the development of an agent based model of the electricity prosumer, Subjective Individual Model of Prosumer – SIMP, and its extended version, SIMP-N, that includes the modelling of the social network. I apply SIMP and SIMP-N models to study the emergence in consumer systems and how values and beliefs at consumer level (as defined by social psychology and behavioural theories and informed by empirical evidence) and social dynamics lead to macro behaviours. More specifically, I explore the diffusion of smart grid technologies enabled services among a population of interacting prosumers and evaluate the impact of such diffusion on individual and societal performance indicators under different policy scenarios and contextual factors. The analysis of the simulation results provides interesting insights on how different psychological characteristics, social dynamics and technological elements can strongly influence consumers' choices and overall system performance. I conclude proposing a framework for an integrated approach to modelling emerging energy systems and markets that extend the SIMP model to also include markets, distribution system operator and the electricity network

The regulation of consumer credit information systems: A lesson from Italy?

The regulation of Consumer Credit information in Italy, the European context, and privacy protection. Could Italy's legislative approach provide an example for a legislative model to other EC member states

A historical primer on consumer credit reporting systems: A lesson for EU policy makers?

This work investigates the cultural framework through the lens of history of consumer credit reporting in the lender-borrower relationship in order to inform European legislators when setting a future legal framework. It provides an historical primer of consumer credit reporting in the US where it first originated and how the system was transplanted in Europe without following that process of legitimisation and legislative procedure that was so crucial over more than 100 years of American history. This brings concerns that European countries need to contend with, especially in view of a future integrated single market in consumer credit in which consumers receive an adequate protection

A hermeneutic investigation of online consumer decision making

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University, 16/06/2005.This is a multidisciplinary information systems thesis with a strong sociological focus. Theoretically it uses the technical concerns of human-computer interaction as the background to consider the separate theories of consumer decision-making and the diffusion of innovations. Emphasis is placed on understanding how consumers make sense of the Internet and come to define the role and use of the Internet in their lives. A practical framework for hermeneutic investigation was created to access the unreflective thoughts and actions driving online consumer decision-making. Implicit within hermeneutics is the prospect of transcendental interpretations and the ability to investigate in situ new avenues of research that emerge as a result of anomalous comments or findings. Hence, this thesis presents two different, but inter-related, research inquiries and their associated findings. Initial interest was centred on consumer behaviour and interface design. Specifically, can a dedicated 'consumer interface' be designed using principles based on consumer perceptions of online convenience. The resulting data analysis created a framework of advice that interface designers can use to improve their understanding of the nature and limitations of convenient interfaces and associated consumer decision-support technologies. A second research theme emerged from the data analysis which broadened the focus into a consideration of online consumer behaviour as a distinct issue. Specifically, a new from of interactive behaviour prevalent in electronic retail markets was identified and, following a second literature review, labeled "surrogacy". Related in form to the personal shoppers found in traditional marketplaces, surrogacy differs from electronic intermediaries with regard to (i) the motivations of use and (ii) the symbolic and functional benefits of usage. The emergence of this phenomenon suggests that interactions between individuals (as consumers) and Web-based systems are maturing, albeit in a non-predictable manner. Together, the methodological refinements presented here with the accompanying research findings provide a reference point for further work in the following three areas: interface design for electronic marketplaces; Web-based consumer decision support technologies; and the development of interpretive approaches suitable for socio-technical investigations

The total assessment profile, volume 1

A methodology is described for the evaluation of societal impacts associated with the implementation of a new technology. Theoretical foundations for the methodology, called the total assessment profile, are established from both the economic and social science perspectives. The procedure provides for accountability of nonquantifiable factors and measures through the use of a comparative value matrix by assessing the impacts of the technology on the value system of the society

The cognitive and affective antecedents to consumer behavior towards on-demand transportation services in Egypt

In the recent few years, smartphones have shaped and assisted in the creation of new business models to formulate and develop some additional dimensions such as shared-economy or shared-mobility. Since transportation is one of the most essential aspects of shared-economy, it is vital to this study to focus and investigate the consumers’ intention to use the new commuting services provided by Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) in Egypt. Consequently, this research aims to examine and understand the cognitive and affective antecedents to consumers’ behavior towards TNCs in Egypt. Therefore, the model of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) has been applied to understand and explain the factors that influence the behavioral intention (BI) to use TNCs services. The factors of Performance Expectancy (PE), Effort Expectancy (EE), Social Influence (SI), Facilitating Conditions (FC), Hedonic Motivation (HM), Price Value (PV), and Habit (HT) tested through surveying 200 respondents thru online (Google Forms) and offline (Self-Administered Questionnaires) techniques. The results showed that consumers’ intention to use TNCs services in Egypt, was positively affected by the factors of (performance expectancy, social influence, price value, and habit). However, the variables of (effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, and hedonic motivation) showed a negative influence on the intention to use TNCs services in Egypt. Thus, upon the evaluation of the gathered data and discovered findings, the market acceptance and share of TNCs services can be increased if these services considered the factors affecting the consumers\u27 intention that mentioned earlier

Environmental and Social Sustainability in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Supply Chain: A Competitiveness’ Asset

The concern for products that meet the requirements of sustainability is a key factor that drives consumers and can be the engine of a successful economy in the food businesses. In the specific case of the fresh fruit and vegetables, more than ever, sustainability understood as a greater focus on the social and environmental performance of the product and of its supply chain, can be considered as a tool to counter the consumer\u27s disaffection. The communication of the product\u27s sustainability can indeed represent a tool to bring out the fruit and vegetable products from the anonymity, a strategy to will make it ‘remember\u27, relying not only on the traditional values recognized to the segment, but also on a set of the supply chain attributes that can differentiate it. However, how to get effectively to the consumer by using a multidimensional and complex concept as the product\u27s sustainability of the product, how to make the sustainability attribute a factor to be considered in the final purchasing choices, how to involve the different stakeholders in the building of a sustainable supply chain (regardless of its length) are still open discussion topics. After presenting the main sustainability certification and communication tools adopted till nowadays for the fresh fruit and vegetables supply chain, the chapter investigates the relative potentialities and criticisms in order to turn them into a real competitiveness’ asset

An international review of cultural consumption research

Despite the effects of the crisis, several studies show that there has been an increase in cultural production in all the most important western countries over the last twenty years. Nevertheless, the dimensions of the flows of demand are changing: the lowering of the threshold of perceived accessibility to the cultural contents on offer is resulting in new population segments using them. The modalities of cultural product consumption are also changing, and are increasingly influenced by the direct involvement of the consumer in the creative processes. On the other side, the competition to conquer consumersÕ free time has intensified because more figures are now involved, both from the cultural industry and outside. The cultural offer has multiplied and become more differentiated. But while this consumption is changing dimensions and modality, a gap is emerging in the information and knowledge of cultural consumption behaviour, mainly due to a lack of innovative official statistical measurements. The present paper wants to understand how academic literature reacted to the need for information on cultural consumption, that became widespread during 2000. Our main objective is to offer an initial overview of scientific literature of the fist decade of the twenty-first century, while trying to understand the future research trends. The analysis showed that great attention is still dedicated to the segmentation of cultural demand, but the analysis of motivations underlying cultural consumption is significantly acquiring more importance. Moreover, we identified vast research areas in which cultural consumption has only been partially studied, such as: social consumption, studies on individual businesses, methodological triangulation, and the operative implications for business management.Cultural consumption; Marketing research; Segmentation; Motivations