Energy Think Tank

The Energy Think Tank brought together more than half a dozen firms from the energy sector. A workshop series was conducted in order to identify the biggest challenges faced by companies in their business model innovation endeavors. Among them were the growing importance of customer orientation, decision-making under uncertainty, organizational ambidexterity (the ability to manage both the firm’s current business and new business opportunities), and the initiation as well as management of cooperative activities, which are increasingly relevant for industry members. Workshops with internal and external experts systematically identified various strategies for dealing with the detected challenges.

Concurrently, the Energy Think Tank also conducted bilateral projects with Swiss energy companies such as AEW Energie, Energie 360°, and St. Galler Stadtwerke. These projects focused on developing new business models with company executives. The companies identified their own competencies as well as interesting market opportunities. This allowed firms to spot and prioritize relevant areas for business model innovation. Firms then derived possible value propositions for different customer segments and derived integrated business model ideas. The firms developed business models in a range of areas including contracting, e-mobility, as well as micro grids and distributed production and use optimization.