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The rebirth of economic sociology in the last decades of the 20th century was largely about intellectual identity formation and developing theoretical foundations. The authors argue that economic sociology is poised to make a contribution to the understanding and solution of social problems. They use the example of energy inefficiency in the commercial buildings industry to suggest that economic sociology offers useful alternatives to current economic-based policy analyses.

Markets represent both the site of important energy-related transactions and a potential venue for reshaping energy-related behaviors. Market interventions aimed explicitly or implicitly at market transformation are frequently part of utility and government energy-efficiency programs.However, these interventions are rarely grounded in knowledge of the workings of real markets.As a result, potential energy savings are foregone and program resources are wasted. We have suggested elsewhere that better theory and models are needed to support market transformation (Blumstein, Goldstone and Lutzenhiser 2000). This paper attempts to advance that agenda. The central themesareto highlight the shortcomings of the most commonly employed frameworks for understanding energy-related markets and to emphasize the need for research on actual market conditions, contexts, and players.We begin with a discussion of how common conceptualizations of the market shape our thinking about market characteristics,consumer choice sets, and approaches to market transformation initiatives. The following section discusses innovation and the role of innovation in market transformation.Thepaper concludes with recommendations for market-related research topics.

Beginning in the summer of 2000, California experienced serious energy supply problems, sharp increases in wholesale (and retail) electricity and natural gas prices, and isolated blackouts. In response to the rapidly worsening electricity situation in California in late 2000, the state set, as an initial goal, the reduction of the state's peak demand for the summer of 2001 by 5,000 megawatts. To meet this goal, the governor and legislature took a variety of steps to enhance supply, encourage rapid voluntary reductions in demand, and provide incentives for actions that would result in load reductions. Three bills-Assembly Bill 970, Senate Bill X1 5 and Assembly Bill X1 29-allocated roughly $950 million for consumption and demand reduction programs. The governor also enacted a variety of additional measures, including the "Flex Your Power" (media awareness and direct business involvement) campaign, requirements for retail sector outdoor lighting reductions, and toughening of energy efficiency building codes. There were, in fact, significant reductions in electricity demand in California during the summer of 2001 and the large number of expected supply disruptions was avoided. To understand the nature of these demand reductions and the motivations for consumer response, Washington State University (WSU) undertook a study for the California Energy Commission (CEC) focusing on conservation behavior in the residential, commercial, and agricultural sectors. The research presented in this report represents an exploration of the response of commercial and institutional organizations to the California energy situation and the unique set of influences that existed during this time. These influences included informational messages and media attention, program interventions, price changes, and external triggering events (e.g., blackouts). To better understand the effects of these influences on organizational response to the energy situation, we conducted 84 semi-structured interviews with members of commercial and institutional organizations (many of which participated in three different California Energy Commission Programs) and with 21 key informants representing program managers, administrators, and aggregators as well as a small number of energy service providers and utilities. Separate reports examine the consumer response in the residential and agricultural sectors.

Beginning in the summer of 2000, California experienced energy supply problems, sharp increases in electricity and natural gas prices, and isolated blackouts. In response, California's state government implemented an unprecedented energy conservation effort to mitigate projected electricity supply shortages during the summer of 2001. Ultimately, significant electricity demand and consumption reductions were achieved. This paper considers the response of commercial and institutional organizations to the California energy situation and offers a description of three factors that shaped these responses: (1) concern about energy problems; (2) operational conditions; and (3) institutional capacity for action. A matrix of possible combinations of concern, conditions, and capacity offers a heuristic for use in exploring how to best tailor and target policy interventions to the circumstances of particular subgroups of organizations.

Realizing the ambitious commitments of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21) will require new ways of meeting human needs previously met by burning fossil fuels. Technological developments will be critical, but so will accelerated adoption of promising low-emission technologies and practices. National commitments will be more achievable if interventions take into account key psychological, social, cultural and organizational factors that influence energy choices, along with factors of an infrastructural, technical and economic nature. Broader engagement of social and behavioural science is needed to identify promising opportunities for reducing fossil fuel consumption. Here we discuss opportunities for change in households and organizations, primarily at short and intermediate timescales, and identify opportunities that have been underused in much of energy policy. Based on this survey, we suggest design principles for interventions by governments and other organizations, and identify areas of emphasis for future social science and interdisciplinary research.

Solar thermal water heaters are an old technology used a century ago in California. They are now used extensively, in updated form, in many countries. According to government and industry estimates, well-functioning solar water heaters can theoretically displace 50 to 80 percent of the output of a natural gas-fueled household water heater, depending how hot water usage aligns with production and storage capacities. In so doing, they offer tremendous potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, fuel consumption, and energy bills. Such performance holds promise for California given its climate change and energy efficiency policy goals, since 40 percent of the natural gas used in California households is used to produce hot water. However, absent programs, only a specialty market for solar water heaters has developed. To encourage wider deployment, the California Solar Initiative—Thermal program offers financial incentives for systems qualifying under a carefully crafted set of specifications. The program has had some limited success since its inception in 2010. Within that context, this research assessed the performance and potential future use of natural gas-displacing solar water heaters in single-family homes in California, attending to a wide range of sociotechnical considerations. This project documented high diversity in user satisfaction and perceived system performance, and a qualified decrease in project costs to below $5,000 per installation. Solar water heating is a technology in progress, not universally suitable but instead appealing to varied niches shaped by household sensibilities, abilities, and hot water use levels. Thus, recent evolution provides a counterpoint to the pessimism, even as serious difficulties remain. The suitability of solar water heating for California households is not purely a matter of costeffectiveness within a typical energy efficiency framework, but also of evolving performance, perceptions, and values in light of ongoing and aspirational energy and social transitions ahead.