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...

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...